Part I General Provisions 501.001 – 501.1735
Part II Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices 501.201 – 501.213
Part III Aftermarket Crash Parts Act 501.30 – 501.34
Part IV Florida Telemarketing Act 501.601 – 501.626
Part V Data Privacy and Security 501.701 – 501.722
Part VI Miscellaneous Provisions 501.91 – 501.974
Part VII Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices; Vehicles 501.975 – 501.98
Part VIII Patent Troll Prevention Act 501.991 – 501.997

Terms Used In Florida Statutes > Chapter 501 - Consumer Protection

  • Accident: means only an unexpected or unusual event or result that happens suddenly. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Activities of daily living: means functions and tasks for self-care, including ambulation, bathing, dressing, eating, grooming, and toileting, and other similar tasks. See Florida Statutes 429.02
  • Activities of daily living: means functions and tasks for self-care, including eating, bathing, grooming, dressing, ambulating, and other similar tasks. See Florida Statutes 429.65
  • Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
  • Administrator: means an individual at least 21 years of age who is responsible for the operation and maintenance of an assisted living facility. See Florida Statutes 429.02
  • Administrator: means a corporation not for profit incorporated pursuant to the provisions of chapter 617 and designated by the Florida Public Service Commission to administer the telecommunications relay service system and the distribution of specialized telecommunications devices pursuant to the provisions of this act and rules and regulations established by the commission. See Florida Statutes 427.703
  • adopted: means legal adoption prior to the time of the injury. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Adult family-care home: means a full-time, family-type living arrangement, in a private home, under which a person who owns or rents the home provides room, board, and personal care, on a 24-hour basis, for no more than five disabled adults or frail elders who are not relatives. See Florida Statutes 429.65
  • 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.
  • Affiliate: means a legal entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with another legal entity or that shares common branding with another legal entity. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • affiliated: includes , but is not limited to, the officers, directors, executives, shareholders active in management, employees, and agents of the affiliated corporation. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
  • Aftermarket crash part: means a replacement for any of the nonmechanical sheet metal or plastic parts which generally constitute the exterior of a motor vehicle, including inner and outer panels. See Florida Statutes 501.32
  • age in place: means the process of providing increased or adjusted services to a person to compensate for the physical or mental decline that may occur with the aging process, in order to maximize the person's dignity and independence and permit them to remain in a familiar, noninstitutional, residential environment for as long as possible. See Florida Statutes 429.02
  • Agency: means the Agency for Health Care Administration. See Florida Statutes 429.02
  • Agency: means the Agency for Health Care Administration. See Florida Statutes 429.65
  • Agency: means the Agency for Health Care Administration. See Florida Statutes 429.901
  • Agency: means the Agency for Health Care Administration. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Aggregate consumer information: means information that relates to a group or category of consumers from which the identity of an individual consumer has been removed and is not reasonably capable of being directly or indirectly associated or linked with any consumer, household, or device. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • Aging in place: means remaining in a noninstitutional living environment despite the physical or mental changes that may occur in a person who is aging. See Florida Statutes 429.65
  • agricultural labor: includes field foremen, timekeepers, checkers, and other farm labor supervisory personnel. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Allegation: something that someone says happened.
  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
  • 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
  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • articles of incorporation: as used in this chapter shall be deemed to include the articles of conversion of a converted corporation. See Florida Statutes 425.17
  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Assisted living facility: means any building or buildings, section or distinct part of a building, private home, boarding home, home for the aged, or other residential facility, regardless of whether operated for profit, which through its ownership or management provides housing, meals, and one or more personal services for a period exceeding 24 hours to one or more adults who are not relatives of the owner or administrator. See Florida Statutes 429.02
  • Assistive technology device dealer: means a person who is engaged in the business of selling assistive technology devices. See Florida Statutes 427.802
  • Assistive technology device lessor: means a person who leases an assistive technology device to a consumer, or holds the lessor's rights, under a written lease. See Florida Statutes 427.802
  • Assistive technology devices: means manual wheelchairs, motorized wheelchairs, motorized scooters, voice-synthesized computer modules, optical scanners, talking software, braille printers, environmental control devices for use by a person with quadriplegia, motor vehicle adaptive transportation aids, devices that enable persons with severe speech disabilities to in effect speak, personal transfer systems, and specialty beds, including a demonstrator, that a consumer purchases or accepts transfer of in this state for use by a person with a disability. See Florida Statutes 427.802
  • Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
  • authenticated: means to verify or the state of having been verified, respectively, through reasonable means that the consumer who is entitled to exercise the consumer's rights under…. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
  • Basic services: include , but are not limited to, providing a protective setting that is as noninstitutional as possible; therapeutic programs of social and health activities and services; leisure activities; self-care training; rest; nutritional services; and respite care. See Florida Statutes 429.901
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Biometric data: means data generated by automatic measurements of an individual's biological characteristics. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • Budget authority: Authority provided by law to enter into obligations that will result in outlays of Federal funds. Budget authority may be classified by the period of availability (one-year, multiyear, no-year), by the timing of congressional action (current or permanent), or by the manner of determining the amount available (definite or indefinite).
  • carrier: as used in this chapter , means an insurer as defined in this subsection. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • center: means any building, buildings, or part of a building, whether operated for profit or not, in which is provided through its ownership or management, for a part of a day, basic services to three or more persons who are 18 years of age or older, who are not related to the owner or operator by blood or marriage, and who require such services. See Florida Statutes 429.901
  • Chambers: A judge's office.
  • Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
  • Child: means an individual younger than 18 years of age. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • Child: includes a posthumous child, a child legally adopted prior to the injury of the employee, and a stepchild or acknowledged child born out of wedlock dependent upon the deceased, but does not include married children unless wholly dependent on the employee. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Collateral costs: means expenses incurred by a consumer in connection with the repair of a nonconformity, including the costs of obtaining an alternative assistive technology device. See Florida Statutes 427.802
  • Commercial telephone seller: means a person who engages in commercial telephone solicitation on his or her own behalf or through salespersons. See Florida Statutes 501.603
  • Commercial telephone solicitation: means :
    (a) An unsolicited telephone call to a person initiated by a commercial telephone seller or salesperson, or an automated dialing machine used in accordance with the provisions of…. See Florida Statutes 501.603
  • Commission: means the Florida Public Service Commission. See Florida Statutes 427.703
  • Committee membership: Legislators are assigned to specific committees by their party. Seniority, regional balance, and political philosophy are the most prominent factors in the committee assignment process.
  • 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.
  • Community living support plan: means a written document prepared by a mental health resident and the resident's mental health case manager in consultation with the administrator of an assisted living facility with a limited mental health license or the administrator's designee. See Florida Statutes 429.02
  • Compensation: means the money allowance payable to an employee or to his or her dependents as provided for in this chapter. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Construction design professional: means an architect, professional engineer, landscape architect, or surveyor and mapper, or any corporation, professional or general, that has a certificate to practice in the construction design field from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Construction industry: means for-profit activities involving any building, clearing, filling, excavation, or substantial improvement in the size or use of any structure or the appearance of any land. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Consumer: means any of the following:
    (a) The purchaser of an assistive technology device, if the assistive technology device was purchased from an assistive technology device dealer or manufacturer for purposes other than resale. See Florida Statutes 427.802
  • Consumer: means an individual who is a resident of or is domiciled in this state acting only in an individual or household context. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • Consumer: means an individual; child, by and through its parent or legal guardian; business; firm; association; joint venture; partnership; estate; trust; business trust; syndicate; fiduciary; corporation; any commercial entity, however denominated; or any other group or combination. See Florida Statutes 501.203
  • Consumer goods or services: means any real property or any tangible or intangible personal property which is normally used for personal, family, or household purposes or any property of any nature which is solicited for the purpose of providing a profit or investment opportunity, including, without limitation, any such property intended to be attached to or installed in any real property, without regard to whether it is so attached or installed, as well as timeshare estates and licenses, and any services related to such property. See Florida Statutes 501.603
  • Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • control: means :
  • controlled: means any of the following:
    (a) The ownership of, or power to vote, more than 50 percent of the outstanding shares of any class of voting security of a company. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • Controller: means :
    (a) A sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, association, or legal entity that meets the following requirements:
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Cooperative agreement: means a written statement of understanding between a mental health care provider and the administrator of the assisted living facility with a limited mental health license in which a mental health resident is living. See Florida Statutes 429.02
  • 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.
  • Credit Score: A number, roughly between 300 and 800, that measures an individual's credit worthiness. The most well-known type of credit score is the FICO score. This score represents the answer from a mathematical formula that assigns numerical values to various pieces of information in your credit report. Source: OCC
  • Customer: includes a customer's designated agent. See Florida Statutes 501.975
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Dark pattern: means a user interface designed or manipulated with the effect of substantially subverting or impairing user autonomy, decisionmaking, or choice. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • Date of maximum medical improvement: means the date after which further recovery from, or lasting improvement to, an injury or disease can no longer reasonably be anticipated, based upon reasonable medical probability. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Deaf: means having a permanent hearing impairment and being unable to discriminate speech sounds in verbal communication, with or without the assistance of amplification devices. See Florida Statutes 427.703
  • Dealer: means a motor vehicle dealer as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 501.975
  • Decedent: A deceased person.
  • Decision that produces a legal or similarly significant effect concerning a consumer: means a decision made by a controller which results in the provision or denial by the controller of any of the following:
    (a) Financial and lending services. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • 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.
  • Deidentified data: means data that cannot reasonably be linked to an identified or identifiable individual or a device linked to that individual. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • Demand letter: means a written communication, including e-mail, asserting or claiming that a person has engaged in patent infringement. See Florida Statutes 501.992
  • Demonstrator: means an assistive technology device used primarily for the purpose of demonstration to the public. See Florida Statutes 427.802
  • Department: means the Department of Elderly Affairs. See Florida Statutes 429.02
  • Department: means the Department of Legal Affairs. See Florida Statutes 501.203
  • Department: means the Department of Elderly Affairs. See Florida Statutes 429.65
  • Department: means the Department of Elderly Affairs. See Florida Statutes 429.901
  • Department: means the Department of Financial Services; the term does not include the Financial Services Commission or any office of the commission. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Department: means the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. See Florida Statutes 501.603
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • 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.
  • Disability: means incapacity because of the injury to earn in the same or any other employment the wages which the employee was receiving at the time of the injury. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Disabled adult: means any person between 18 and 59 years of age, inclusive, who is a resident of the state and who has one or more permanent physical or mental limitations that restrict the person's ability to perform the normal activities of daily living. See Florida Statutes 429.65
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
  • Division: means the Division of Workers' Compensation of the Department of Financial Services. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
  • Domestic individual self-insurer: means an individual self-insurer:
    (a) Which is a corporation formed under the laws of this state;
    (b) Who is an individual who is a resident of this state or whose primary place of business is located in this state; or
    (c) Which is a partnership whose principals are residents of this state or whose primary place of business is located in this state. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Donor: The person who makes a gift.
  • Dual sensory impaired: means having both a permanent hearing impairment and a permanent visual impairment and includes deaf/blindness. See Florida Statutes 427.703
  • Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. Source: OCC
  • Emergency: means a situation, physical condition, or method of operation which presents imminent danger of death or serious physical or mental harm to facility residents. See Florida Statutes 429.02
  • Employee: includes any person who is an officer of a corporation and who performs services for remuneration for such corporation within this state, whether or not such services are continuous. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Employer: means the state and all political subdivisions thereof, all public and quasi-public corporations therein, every person carrying on any employment, and the legal representative of a deceased person or the receiver or trustees of any person. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Employment: includes :
  • Enforcing authority: means the office of the state attorney if a violation of this part occurs in or affects the judicial circuit under the office's jurisdiction. See Florida Statutes 501.203
  • Enforcing authority: means the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services or the office of the state attorney if a violation of this part occurs in or affects the judicial circuit under the jurisdiction of the office of the state attorney. See Florida Statutes 501.603
  • Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
  • 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.
  • Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
  • Extended congregate care: means acts beyond those authorized in subsection (18) which may be performed pursuant to part I of chapter 464 by persons licensed thereunder while carrying out their professional duties, and other supportive services that may be specified by rule. See Florida Statutes 429.02
  • 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
  • Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
  • farm: includes stock, dairy, poultry, fruit, fur-bearing animals, fish, and truck farms, ranches, nurseries, and orchards. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
  • Final judgment: means a judgment, including any supporting opinion, that determines the rights of the parties and concerning which appellate remedies have been exhausted or the time for appeal has expired. See Florida Statutes 501.203
  • Finance charge: The total cost of credit a customer must pay on a consumer loan, including interest. The Truth in Lending Act requires disclosure of the finance charge. Source: OCC
  • 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
  • Foreign individual self-insurer: means an individual self-insurer:
    (a) Which is a corporation formed under the laws of any state, district, territory, or commonwealth of the United States other than this state;
    (b) Who is an individual who is not a resident of this state and whose primary place of business is not located in this state; or
    (c) Which is a partnership whose principals are not residents of this state and whose primary place of business is not located in this state. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. Source: OCC
  • Frail elder: means a functionally impaired elderly person who is 60 years of age or older and who has physical or mental limitations that restrict the person's ability to perform the normal activities of daily living and that impede the person's capacity to live independently. See Florida Statutes 429.65
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
  • Grandchild: means a child as above defined of a child as above defined. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
  • Guardian: means a person to whom the law has entrusted the custody and control of the person or property, or both, of a person who has been legally adjudged incapacitated. See Florida Statutes 429.02
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Hard of hearing: means having a permanent hearing impairment which is severe enough to necessitate the use of amplification devices to discriminate speech sounds in verbal communication. See Florida Statutes 427.703
  • Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.
  • Identified or identifiable individual: means a consumer who can be readily identified, directly or indirectly. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
  • Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
  • Individual: means a single human being and does not mean a firm, association of individuals, corporation, partnership, joint venture, sole proprietorship, or any other entity. See Florida Statutes 501.603
  • Individual self-insurer: means any employer who has secured payment of compensation pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
  • Injury: means personal injury or death by accident arising out of and in the course of employment, and such diseases or infection as naturally or unavoidably result from such injury. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • insolvent: means :
    (a) With respect to an individual self-insurer:
  • Insolvent member: means an individual self-insurer which is a member of the Florida Self-Insurers Guaranty Association, Incorporated, or which was a member and has withdrawn pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Institution of higher education: means an educational institution as defined in 20 U. See Florida Statutes 501.992
  • Insurer: means a group self-insurers' fund authorized by…. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Insurer: includes an insurance company and any person authorized to represent the insurer with respect to a claim and who is parting within the scope of the person's authority. See Florida Statutes 501.32
  • 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.
  • Known child: means a child under circumstances of which a controller has actual knowledge of, or willfully disregards, the child's age. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • 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.
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • Legacy: A gift of property made by will.
  • Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
  • Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Limited nursing services: means acts that may be performed by a person licensed under part I of chapter 464. See Florida Statutes 429.02
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Local exchange telecommunications company: means a telecommunications company certificated by the commission to provide telecommunications services within a specific geographic area. See Florida Statutes 427.703
  • Managed risk: means the process by which the facility staff discuss the service plan and the needs of the resident with the resident and, if applicable, the resident's representative or designee or the resident's surrogate, guardian, or attorney in fact, in such a way that the consequences of a decision, including any inherent risk, are explained to all parties and reviewed periodically in conjunction with the service plan, taking into account changes in the resident's status and the ability of the facility to respond accordingly. See Florida Statutes 429.02
  • Manufacturer: means a business entity that manufactures or produces assistive technology devices for sale and agents of that business entity, including an importer, a distributor, a factory branch, a distributor branch, and any warrantors of the manufacturer's assistive technology device, but not including an assistive technology device dealer. See Florida Statutes 427.802
  • mechanism: means a system that is purchased by a person on a prepaid basis, that enables access to the funds via an authorization code or other security measure, and that is not directly used as a general-use prepaid card. See Florida Statutes 501.603
  • Mental health resident: means an individual who receives social security disability income due to a mental disorder as determined by the Social Security Administration or receives supplemental security income due to a mental disorder as determined by the Social Security Administration and receives optional state supplementation. See Florida Statutes 429.02
  • minor: includes any person who has not attained the age of 18 years. See Florida Statutes 1.01
  • Misconduct: includes , but is not limited to, the following, which shall not be construed in pari materia with each other:
    (a) Conduct evincing such willful or wanton disregard of an employer's interests as is found in deliberate violation or disregard of standards of behavior which the employer has the right to expect of the employee; or
    (b) Carelessness or negligence of such a degree or recurrence as to manifest culpability, wrongful intent, or evil design, or to show an intentional and substantial disregard of an employer's interests or of the employee's duties and obligations to the employer. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • money transfer provider: means a person or financial institution that provides cash-to-cash money transfers for a person in the normal course of its business, regardless of whether the person holds an account with such person or financial institution. See Florida Statutes 501.603
  • 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.
  • Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
  • Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
  • Nonconformity: means a condition or defect of an assistive technology device which substantially impairs the use, value, or safety of the device and which is covered by an express warranty applicable to the assistive technology device, but does not include a condition or defect that is the result of abuse, neglect, excessive wear, or unauthorized modification or alteration of the assistive technology device by a consumer. See Florida Statutes 427.802
  • Nonprofit organization: means any of the following:
    (a) An organization exempt from federal taxation under…. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • Novelty payment: means a payment method that does not provide systematic monitoring to detect and deter fraud. See Florida Statutes 501.603
  • oath: includes affirmations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
  • Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
  • 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.
  • Office of Insurance Regulation: means the Office of Insurance Regulation of the Financial Services Commission. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • officer of a corporation: includes a member owning at least 10 percent of a limited liability company as defined in and organized pursuant to chapter 605. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Operator: means the licensee or person having general administrative charge of an adult day care center. See Florida Statutes 429.901
  • Order: means a cease and desist order issued by the enforcing authority as set forth in…. See Florida Statutes 501.203
  • Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
  • Owner: means the licensee of an adult day care center. See Florida Statutes 429.901
  • Parent: includes stepparents and parents by adoption, parents-in-law, and any persons who for more than 3 years prior to the death of the deceased employee stood in the place of a parent to him or her and were dependent on the injured employee. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Participant: means a recipient of basic services or of supportive and optional services provided by an adult day care center. See Florida Statutes 429.901
  • Partner: means any person who is a member of a partnership that is formed by two or more persons to carry on as co-owners of a business with the understanding that there will be a proportional sharing of the profits and losses between them. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • 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.
  • Permanent impairment: means any anatomic or functional abnormality or loss determined as a percentage of the body as a whole, existing after the date of maximum medical improvement, which results from the injury. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Person: includes any natural person, firm, association, corporation, business trust, partnership, federal agency, state or political subdivision or agency thereof, or any body politic; and
(3) "Member" means each incorporator of a cooperative and each person admitted to and retaining membership therein, and shall include a husband and wife admitted to joint membership. See Florida Statutes 425.03
  • Person: means individual, partnership, association, or corporation, including any public service corporation. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
  • Person: includes any individual, group of individuals, firm, association, corporation, partnership, joint venture, sole proprietorship, or any other business entity. See Florida Statutes 501.603
  • Person with a disability: means any person who has one or more permanent physical or mental limitations that restrict his or her ability to perform the normal activities of daily living and impede his or her capacity to live independently. See Florida Statutes 427.802
  • personal care: includes individual assistance with or supervision of the activities of daily living and the self-administration of medication, and other similar services. See Florida Statutes 429.65
  • Personal data: means any information, including sensitive data, which is linked or reasonably linkable to an identified or identifiable individual. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • Personal services: means direct physical assistance with or supervision of the activities of daily living, the self-administration of medication, or other similar services that the agency may define by rule. See Florida Statutes 429.02
  • Physical restraint: means a device that physically limits, restricts, or deprives an individual of movement or mobility, including any device that is not specifically manufactured as a restraint but is altered, arranged, or otherwise used for that purpose. See Florida Statutes 429.02
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
  • Political organization: means a party, a committee, an association, a fund, or any other organization, regardless of whether incorporated, organized and operated primarily for the purpose of influencing or attempting to influence any of the following:
    (a) The selection, nomination, election, or appointment of an individual to a federal, state, or local public office or an office in a political organization, regardless of whether the individual is selected, nominated, elected, or appointed. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • political subdivision: include counties, cities, towns, villages, special tax school districts, special road and bridge districts, bridge districts, and all other districts in this state. See Florida Statutes 1.01
  • Postsecondary education institution: means a Florida College System institution, state university, or nonpublic postsecondary education institution that receives state funds. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC
  • Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
  • Precise geolocation data: means information derived from technology, including global positioning system level latitude and longitude coordinates or other mechanisms, which directly identifies the specific location of an individual with precision and accuracy within a radius of 1,750 feet. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • Probate: Proving a will
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • processing: means an operation or set of operations performed, whether by manual or automated means, on personal data or on sets of personal data, such as the collection, use, storage, disclosure, analysis, deletion, or modification of personal data. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • Processor: means a person who processes personal data on behalf of a controller. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • Profiling: means any form of solely automated processing performed on personal data to evaluate, analyze, or predict personal aspects related to an identified or identifiable individual's economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behavior, location, or movements. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
  • Provider: means a person who is licensed to operate an adult family-care home. See Florida Statutes 429.65
  • Pseudonymous data: means any information that cannot be attributed to a specific individual without the use of additional information, provided that the additional information is kept separately and is subject to appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure that the personal data is not attributed to an identified or identifiable individual. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • Publicly available information: means information lawfully made available through government records, or information that a business has a reasonable basis for believing is lawfully made available to the general public through widely distributed media, by a consumer, or by a person to whom a consumer has disclosed the information, unless the consumer has restricted the information to a specific audience. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • Purchaser: means a person who is solicited to become or does become obligated to a commercial telephone seller. See Florida Statutes 501.603
  • Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • Reasonable attempt to repair: means , within the terms of an express warranty applicable to a new assistive technology device:
    (a) A maximum of three efforts by the manufacturer, the assistive technology device lessor, or any of the manufacturer's authorized assistive technology device dealers to repair a nonconformity that is subject to repair under the warranty; or
    (b) The passage of at least 30 cumulative days during which the assistive technology device is out of service because of a nonconformity that is covered by the warranty. See Florida Statutes 427.802
  • Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. Source: FDIC
  • Relative: means an individual who is the father, mother, stepfather, stepmother, son, daughter, brother, sister, grandmother, grandfather, great-grandmother, great-grandfather, grandson, granddaughter, uncle, aunt, first cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half sister of an owner or administrator. See Florida Statutes 429.02
  • Relative: means an individual who is the father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, grandfather, grandmother, great-grandfather, great-grandmother, uncle, aunt, first cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half sister of a provider. See Florida Statutes 429.65
  • Relief person: means an adult designated by the provider to supervise the residents during the provider's absence. See Florida Statutes 429.65
  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
  • Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
  • Repair facility: means a motor vehicle dealer, garage, body shop, or other commercial entity which undertakes the repair or replacement of those parts that generally constitute the exterior of a motor vehicle. See Florida Statutes 501.32
  • Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
  • Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
  • Resident: means a person 18 years of age or older, residing in and receiving care from a facility. See Florida Statutes 429.02
  • Resident: means a person receiving room, board, and personal care in an adult family-care home. See Florida Statutes 429.65
  • Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
  • Ring signaling device: means a mechanism, such as a flashing light, which visually indicates that a communication is being received through a telephone line. See Florida Statutes 427.703
  • Sale of personal data: means the sharing, disclosing, or transferring of personal data for monetary or other valuable consideration by the controller to a third party. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • Salesperson: means any individual employed, appointed, or authorized by a commercial telephone seller, regardless of whether the commercial telephone seller refers to the individual as an agent, representative, or independent contractor, who attempts to solicit or solicits a sale on behalf of the commercial telephone seller. See Florida Statutes 501.603
  • Search engine: means technology and systems that use algorithms to sift through and index vast third-party websites and content on the Internet in response to search queries entered by a user. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • Self-insurer: means :
    (a) Any employer who has secured payment of compensation pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Sensitive data: means a category of personal data which includes any of the following:
    (a) Personal data revealing an individual's racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, mental or physical health diagnosis, sexual orientation, or citizenship or immigration status. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
  • Service plan: means a written plan, developed and agreed upon by the resident and, if applicable, the resident's representative or designee or the resident's surrogate, guardian, or attorney in fact, if any, and the administrator or designee representing the facility, which addresses the unique physical and psychosocial needs, abilities, and personal preferences of each resident receiving extended congregate care services. See Florida Statutes 429.02
  • 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.
  • sister: include stepbrothers and stepsisters, half brothers and half sisters, and brothers and sisters by adoption, but does not include married brothers or married sisters unless wholly dependent on the employee. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Sole proprietor: means a natural person who owns a form of business in which that person owns all the assets of the business and is solely liable for all the debts of the business. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Solicit: means to initiate contact with a purchaser for the purpose of attempting to sell consumer goods or services, where such purchaser has expressed no previous interest in purchasing, investing in, or obtaining information regarding the property, goods, or services attempted to be sold. See Florida Statutes 501.603
  • Specificity: means information on the petition for benefits sufficient to put the employer or carrier on notice of the exact statutory classification and outstanding time period of benefits being requested and includes a detailed explanation of any benefits received that should be increased, decreased, changed, or otherwise modified. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • sports official: means any person who is a neutral participant in a sports event, including, but not limited to, umpires, referees, judges, linespersons, scorekeepers, or timekeepers. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Spouse: includes only a spouse substantially dependent for financial support upon the decedent and living with the decedent at the time of the decedent's injury and death, or substantially dependent upon the decedent for financial support and living apart at that time for justifiable cause. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • State agency: means any department, commission, board, office, council, authority, or other agency in the executive branch of state government created by the State Constitution or state law. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • Subpoena duces tecum: A command to a witness to produce documents.
  • Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
  • Supervision: means reminding residents to engage in activities of daily living and the self-administration of medication, and, when necessary, observing or providing verbal cuing to residents while they perform these activities. See Florida Statutes 429.02
  • Supportive and optional services: include , but are not limited to, speech, occupational, and physical therapy; direct transportation; legal consultation; consumer education; and referrals for followup services. See Florida Statutes 429.901
  • Supportive services: means services designed to encourage and assist aged persons or adults with disabilities to remain in the least restrictive living environment and to maintain their independence as long as possible. See Florida Statutes 429.02
  • Surcharge: means an additional charge which is to be paid by local exchange telecommunications company subscribers pursuant to the cost recovery mechanism established under…. See Florida Statutes 427.703
  • Target: means a person residing in, incorporated in, or organized under the laws of this state who purchases, rents, leases, or otherwise obtains a product or service in the commercial market which is not for resale in the commercial market. See Florida Statutes 501.992
  • Targeted advertising: means displaying to a consumer an advertisement selected based on personal data obtained from that consumer's activities over time across affiliated or unaffiliated websites and online applications used to predict the consumer's preferences or interests. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • TDD: means a mechanism which is connected to a standard telephone line, operated by means of a keyboard, and used to transmit or receive signals through telephone lines. See Florida Statutes 427.703
  • Telecommunications company: includes every corporation, partnership, and person and their lessees, trustees, or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever, and every political subdivision of the state, offering two-way telecommunications service to the public for hire within this state by the use of a telecommunications facility. See Florida Statutes 427.703
  • Telecommunications facility: includes real estate, easements, apparatus, property, and routes used and operated to provide two-way telecommunications service to the public for hire within this state. See Florida Statutes 427.703
  • Telecommunications relay service: means any telecommunications transmission service that allows a person who is hearing impaired or speech impaired to communicate by wire or radio in a manner that is functionally equivalent to the ability of a person who is not hearing impaired or speech impaired. See Florida Statutes 427.703
  • Temporary restraining order: Prohibits a person from an action that is likely to cause irreparable harm. This differs from an injunction in that it may be granted immediately, without notice to the opposing party, and without a hearing. It is intended to last only until a hearing can be held.
  • Testify: Answer questions in court.
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • Third party: means a person, other than the consumer, the controller, the processor, or an affiliate of the controller or processor. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • Threshold amount: means 3 percent of the manufacturer's suggested retail price of a motor vehicle or $650, whichever is less. See Florida Statutes 501.975
  • Time of injury: means the time of the occurrence of the accident resulting in the injury. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
  • Trade or commerce: means the advertising, soliciting, providing, offering, or distributing, whether by sale, rental, or otherwise, of any good or service, or any property, whether tangible or intangible, or any other article, commodity, or thing of value, wherever situated. See Florida Statutes 501.203
  • 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.
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • Variable Rate: Having a "variable" rate means that the APR changes from time to time based on fluctuations in an external rate, normally the Prime Rate. This external rate is known as the "index." If the index changes, the variable rate normally changes. Also see Fixed Rate.
  • Vehicle: means any automobile, truck, bus, recreational vehicle, or motorcycle required to be licensed under chapter 320 for operation over the roads of Florida, but does not include trailers, mobile homes, travel trailers, or trailer coaches without independent motive power. See Florida Statutes 501.975
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
  • Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
  • veteran: means a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service and who was discharged or released under honorable conditions only or who later received an upgraded discharge under honorable conditions, notwithstanding any action by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs on individuals discharged or released with other than honorable discharges. See Florida Statutes 1.01
  • Violation of this part: means any violation of this act or the rules adopted under this act and may be based upon any of the following as of July 1, 2017:
    (a) Any rules promulgated pursuant to the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U. See Florida Statutes 501.203
  • Voice recognition feature: means the function of a device which enables the collection, recording, storage, analysis, transmission, interpretation, or other use of spoken words or other sounds. See Florida Statutes 501.702
  • Volume control handset: means a telephone which has an adjustable control for increasing the volume of the sound being produced by the telephone receiving unit or by the telephone transmitting unit. See Florida Statutes 427.703
  • volunteer: includes , but is not limited to:
  • Wages: means the money rate at which the service rendered is recompensed under the contract of hiring in force at the time of the injury and includes only the wages earned and reported for federal income tax purposes on the job where the employee is injured and any other concurrent employment where he or she is also subject to workers' compensation coverage and benefits, together with the reasonable value of housing furnished to the employee by the employer which is the permanent year-round residence of the employee, and gratuities to the extent reported to the employer in writing as taxable income received in the course of employment from others than the employer and employer contributions for health insurance for the employee or the employee's dependents. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Weekly compensation rate: means and refers to the amount of compensation payable for a period of 7 consecutive calendar days, including any Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, and other nonworking days which fall within such period of 7 consecutive calendar days. See Florida Statutes 440.02
  • Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
  • Writ of certiorari: An order issued by the Supreme Court directing the lower court to transmit records for a case for which it will hear on appeal.
  • writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 1.01