Terms Used In California Codes > Government Code > Title 2 > Division 4 > Part 1.5 > Chapter 3 > Article 3 - Distribution Process

• City: includes "city and county" and "incorporated town" but does not include "unincorporated town" or "village. See California Government Code 20
• Commission: means the County Boundary Review Commission. See California Government Code 23231
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• County: includes city and county. See California Government Code 19
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defense attorney: Represent defendants in criminal matters.
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• General fund reserves: means the general fund reserve balance as of July 1, 1978, that is not legally obligated. See California Government Code 16271
• Governing body: means the board of supervisors except that in the case of a subsidiary district "governing body" means the city council, and in the case of a multi-county district "governing body" means the governing body of the multi-county district itself. See California Government Code 16271
• Joint tenancy: A form of property ownership in which two or more parties hold an undivided interest in the same property that was conveyed under the same instrument at the same time. A joint tenant can sell his (her) interest but not dispose of it by will. Upon the death of a joint tenant, his (her) undivided interest is distributed among the surviving joint tenants.
• Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Owner: means the owner as shown on the last equalized assessment roll, except that the person entitled to be shown as owner on the current assessment roll shall be deemed the owner, and except that, where the property affected is subject to a recorded written agreement to buy, the purchaser under such agreement to buy shall be deemed the owner. See California Government Code 23231
• property: includes property real and personal. See California Civil Code 14
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Special district: includes a county service area, a maintenance district or area, an improvement district or improvement zone, or any other zone or area formed for the purpose of designating an area within which a property tax rate will be levied to pay for a service or improvement benefitting that area. See California Government Code 16271
• State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Government Code 18
• Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which the term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Government Code 10
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Tenancy in common: A type of property ownership in which two or more individuals have an undivided interest in property. At the death of one tenant in common, his (her) fractional percentage of ownership in the property passes to the decedent
• Uninhabited territory: means territory where less than 12 persons who have been registered to vote within the territory for at least 54 days reside at the time of filing of a petition or resolution for county boundary change. See California Government Code 23231
• Value of the uninhabited territory: means the value of land and improvements thereon. See California Government Code 23231