Terms Used In California Codes > Health and Safety Code > Division 104 > Part 7 > Chapter 7 - Water, Plumbing, and Waste

• Action: includes a civil action and a special proceeding of a civil nature. See California Code of Civil Procedure 2016.020
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Annual percentage rate: The cost of credit at a yearly rate. It is calculated in a standard way, taking the average compound interest rate over the term of the loan so borrowers can compare loans. Lenders are required by law to disclose a card account's APR. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Approved lending institution: means a qualified mortgage lender approved by the agency for participation in a program of loan insurance, including those successors and assigns of any such institution as are permitted by the agency. See California Health and Safety Code 51603
• board of directors: means the Board of Directors of the California Housing Finance Agency. See California Health and Safety Code 51603
• City: includes incorporated city, city and county, municipal corporation, municipality, town and incorporated town. See California Financial Code 13
• Commissioner: means the Insurance Commissioner of this State. See California Insurance Code 20
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation. See California Financial Code 23001
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• County: includes city and county. See California Financial Code 14
• Court: means the trial court in which the action is pending, unless otherwise specified. See California Code of Civil Procedure 2016.020
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Deferred deposit transaction: means a transaction whereby a person defers depositing a customer's personal check until a specific date, pursuant to a written agreement for a fee or other charge, as provided in Section 23035. See California Financial Code 23001
• Degree: means any "academic degree" or "honorary degree" or title of any designation, mark, appellation, series of letters or words such as, but not limited to, associate, bachelor, master, doctor, or fellow which signifies, purports, or is generally taken to signify satisfactory completion of the requirements of an academic, educational, technological, or professional program of study or is an honorary title conferred for recognition of some meritorious achievement. See California Education Code 32380
• department: means the Department of Water Resources. See California Public Resources Code 8001
• Department: means the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. See California Financial Code 23001
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Diploma: means any diploma, certificate, transcript, document, or other writing in any language other than a degree representing that an individual has completed any course of study. See California Education Code 32380
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Electronically stored information: means information that is stored in an electronic medium. See California Code of Civil Procedure 2016.020
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• 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.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• insurance fund: means the California Housing Loan Insurance Fund, which is hereby created. See California Health and Safety Code 51603
• Insured loan: means a loan insured pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 51650). See California Health and Safety Code 51603
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Licensee: means any person who offers, originates, or makes a deferred deposit transaction, who arranges a deferred deposit transaction for a deferred deposit originator, who acts as an agent for a deferred deposit originator, or who assists a deferred deposit originator in the origination of a deferred deposit transaction. See California Financial Code 23001
• Multifamily residential housing: means an improvement on real estate which is a building or buildings containing five or more residential units. See California Health and Safety Code 51603
• 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.
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: means any person, association, organization, partnership, business trust, limited liability company, or corporation. See California Insurance Code 19
• Person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
• Person: means an individual, a corporation, a partnership, a limited liability company, a joint venture, an association, a joint stock company, a trust, an unincorporated organization, a government entity, or a political subdivision of a government entity. See California Financial Code 23001
• Persons and families of low or moderate income: means "persons and families of low or moderate income" as defined in Section 50093. See California Health and Safety Code 51603
• Persons and families of low or moderate income: includes very low income households, as defined in Section 50105, extremely low income households, as defined in Section 50106, and lower income households as defined in Section 50079. See California Health and Safety Code 50093
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• 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.
• Single-family residential housing: means an improvement on real estate which is a building or a condominium unit or buildings containing one to four units. See California Health and Safety Code 51603
• State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Health and Safety Code 23
• State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Insurance Code 28
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.