Terms Used In California Codes > Health and Safety Code > Division 13 > Part 1.5 > Chapter 5 > Article 3 - Actions and Proceedings

• 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.
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• 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}
• Approved: means acceptable to the department. See California Health and Safety Code 17920
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• bona fide principal amount: as used in this division solely for the purposes of determining whether the loan amount exceeds a regulatory ceiling, and is not intended to affect the meaning of "principal" for any other purpose. See California Financial Code 22251
• Building: means a structure subject to this part. See California Health and Safety Code 17920
• Charity: An agency, institution, or organization in existence and operating for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons and conducted for educational, religious, scientific, medical, or other beneficent purposes.
• City: includes incorporated city, city and county, municipal corporation, municipality, town and incorporated town. See California Financial Code 13
• 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.
• 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 Health and Safety Code 14
• County: includes city and county. See California Financial Code 14
• Credit bureau: An agency that collects individual credit information and sells it for a fee to creditors so they can make a decision on granting loans. Typical clients include banks, mortgage lenders, credit card companies, and other financing companies. (Also commonly referred to as consumer-reporting agency or credit-reporting agency.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Credit report: A detailed report of an individual's credit history prepared by a credit bureau and used by a lender in determining a loan applicant's creditworthiness. ^{Source: OCC}
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the Department of Housing and Community Development. See California Health and Safety Code 17920
• Enforcement: means diligent effort to secure compliance, including review of plans and permit applications, response to complaints, citation of violations, and other legal process. See California Health and Safety Code 17920
• 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.
• Fair Credit Reporting Act: A federal law, established in 1971 and revised in 1997, that gives consumers the right to see their credit records and correct any mistakes. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• 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.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Listed: means all products that appear in a list published by an approved testing or listing agency. See California Health and Safety Code 17920
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. ^{Source: OCC}
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• Nuisance: means any nuisance defined pursuant to Part 3 (commencing with Section 3479) of Division 4 of . See California Health and Safety Code 17920
• 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.
• Open-end credit: A credit agreement (typically a credit card) that allows a customer to borrow against a preapproved credit line when purchasing goods and services. The borrower is only billed for the amount that is actually borrowed plus any interest due. (Also called a charge account or revolving credit.) ^{Source: OCC}
• 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, firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust, corporation, limited liability company, or company. See California Health and Safety Code 19
• Person: includes any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company, limited liability company, syndicate, estate, trust, business trust, or organization of any kind. See California Financial Code 18
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• specified amount: means five thousand dollars ($5,000). See California Financial Code 22551
• State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Health and Safety Code 23
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Usury: Charging an illegally high interest rate on a loan. ^{Source: OCC}
• Writing: includes any form of recorded message capable of comprehension by ordinary visual means. See California Financial Code 8