Terms Used In Delaware Code > Title 10 > Chapter 37 > Subchapter I - Survival of Actions and Causes of Action

• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• 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.
• 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.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
• 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.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• 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.
• Right of survivorship: The ownership rights that result in the acquisition of title to property by reason of having survived other co-owners.
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Year: means a calendar year, and is equivalent to the words "year of our Lord. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302