Terms Used In Michigan Laws > Chapter 213 > Act 87 of 1980 - The Uniform Condemnation Procedures Act

• 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.
• Agency: means a public agency or private agency. See Michigan Laws 213.51
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Appraisal: means an expert opinion of the value of property taken or damaged, or other expert opinion pertaining to the amount of just compensation. See Michigan Laws 213.51
• 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.
• Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
• de facto taking: means conduct, other than regularly established judicial proceedings, sufficient to constitute a taking of property within the meaning of section 2 of article X of the state constitution of 1963. See Michigan Laws 213.51
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• 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.
• 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.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• 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.
• Intangible property: Property that has no intrinsic value, but is merely the evidence of value such as stock certificates, bonds, and promissory notes.
• 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.
• 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}
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• Owner: means a person, fiduciary, partnership, association, corporation, or a governmental unit or agency having an estate, title, or interest, including beneficial, possessory, and security interest, in a property sought to be condemned. See Michigan Laws 213.51
• Parcel: means an identifiable unit of land, whether physically contiguous or not, having substantially common beneficial ownership, all or part of which is being acquired, and treated as separate for valuation purposes. See Michigan Laws 213.51
• 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: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, as well as to individuals. See Michigan Laws 8.3l
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• 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.
• Private agency: means a person, partnership, association, corporation, or entity, other than a public agency, authorized by law to condemn property. See Michigan Laws 213.51
• Property: means land, buildings, structures, tenements, hereditaments, easements, tangible and intangible property, and property rights whether real, personal, or mixed, including fluid mineral and gas rights. See Michigan Laws 213.51
• Public agency: means a governmental unit, officer, or subdivision authorized by law to condemn property. See Michigan Laws 213.51
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• 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.
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• take: means to secure transfer of ownership of property to an agency by involuntary expropriation. See Michigan Laws 213.51
• taking: means the transfer of ownership of property to an agency by involuntary expropriation. See Michigan Laws 213.51
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.