Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes > Title 12 > Chapter 1 > Part 16 - Records and Reports

• 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}
• 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.
• 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
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• 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}
• Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of the office of financial institutions. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:1083
• Consumer: means a natural person who enters into or seeks to enter into a residential loan transaction for a personal, family, or household purpose. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:1083
• Cooperative: means a corporation organized under this Chapter and a corporation which becomes subject to this Chapter in the manner provided in this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 17:2803
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Department: means the Department of Agriculture and Forestry. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:1
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• 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:
• Electronic funds transfer: The transfer of money between accounts by consumer electronic systems-such as automated teller machines (ATMs) and electronic payment of bills-rather than by check or cash. (Wire transfers, checks, drafts, and paper instruments do not fall into this category.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Employee: shall mean any of the following classifications:

              (a)(i) Any full-time police officer, empowered to make arrests. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:2213

• Employer: shall mean any municipality in the state of Louisiana which employs a full-time police officer, empowered to make arrests, or which has an elected chief of police whose salary is at least one thousand dollars per month, and the Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:2213
• 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.
• Federal Reserve System: The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve System is composed of a central governmental agency in Washington, D.C. (the Board of Governors) and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in major cities throughout the United States. ^{Source: OCC}
• Federally related mortgage loan: means an extension of credit to a consumer secured by a first mortgage on residential immovable property located in this state, including:  a mobile home which will be immobilized pursuant to La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:1083
• 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.
• Forest land: means any land in the state devoted to the growing of trees or the commercial production of timber, wood, or forest products that is located outside the corporate limits of any municipality. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:3622
• Governmental action: means annexation of territory by a governmental entity or the issuance of a rule, regulation, policy, or guideline promulgated for or by any governmental entity, or an order or other legally binding directive having the force of law or capable of being enforced by government which prohibits or limits the right of an owner to conduct forestry activities on forestry land. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:3622
• Governmental entity: means :

  (a)  A board, authority, commission, department, office, or agency of the state government. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:3622

• Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• 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.
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• 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 Louisiana Revised Statutes 17:2803
• Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. ^{Source: OCC}
• Mortgage loan originator: means an individual who for compensation or gain or with the expectation of compensation or gain takes a residential mortgage loan application or offers or negotiates terms of a residential mortgage loan. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:1083
• 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.
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• 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}
• Owner: means a person owning an interest in forest land at the time a governmental action becomes effective as to the forest land in which the owner owns an interest. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:3622
• Person: means any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, association, trust, or legal or commercial entity, or other group of individuals however organized. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:1083
• Person: means an individual or any legal or commercial entity, including a corporation, business trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, or joint venture. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:1
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• 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.
• Prohibits or limits: means an existent reduction of twenty percent or more of the fair market value of forest land, or any portion thereof, or property rights thereto associated with conducting forestry activities on forest land before the action. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:3622
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Registered mortgage loan originator: means any individual who meets the definition of mortgage loan originator and is an employee of a depository institution or a subsidiary that is either owned and controlled by a depository institution and regulated by a federal banking agency or an institution regulated by the Farm Credit Administration and is registered with, and maintains a unique identifier through, the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:1083
• 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.
• Residential immovable property: means any immovable property located in this state upon which is constructed or intended to be constructed a dwelling. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:1083
• Residential loan transaction: means any agreement by a consumer with a mortgage broker, mortgage loan originator, mortgage loan servicer, or mortgage lender in connection with a residential mortgage loan. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:1083
• residential mortgage broker: means any person who, directly or indirectly, for compensation or the expectation of compensation, negotiates, places, or finds, or offers to negotiate, place, or find a residential mortgage loan for another person. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:1083
• residential mortgage lender: means any person who, directly or indirectly, originates or makes, or offers to originate or make, a residential mortgage loan for another person. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:1083
• Residential mortgage lending activity: means an activity, including electronic activity, engaged in for compensation or with the expectation of compensation in connection with a residential loan transaction, including the origination or funding of a residential mortgage loan and the negotiation and placement, or offering to negotiate, place, or fund a residential mortgage loan for another person, or servicing a mortgage loan. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:1083
• Residential mortgage loan: means any loan primarily for personal, family, or household use that is secured by a mortgage, deed of trust, or other equivalent consensual security interest on a dwelling as defined in 15 U. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:1083
• Service: shall mean service rendered as an employee as described in Paragraph (11) of this Section. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:2213
• 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.
• State: means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, or any territory of the United States including Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:1083
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• 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.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Truth in Lending Act: The Truth in Lending Act is a federal law that requires lenders to provide standardized information so that borrowers can compare loan terms. In general, lenders must provide information on ^{Source: OCC}
• Unique identifier: means a number or other identifier assigned by protocols established by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:1083
• Usury: Charging an illegally high interest rate on a loan. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.