Terms Used In New York Laws > Agriculture and Markets > Article 10-A - Prevention of Fraud In Sale of Soil and Plant Inoculants

• Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• board: means a community services board for services to individuals with mental illness and developmental disabilities, those suffering from alcoholism, alcohol abuse, substance abuse or substance dependence. See N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law 41.03
• capital costs: means the costs of a local government, a voluntary agency, or the facilities development corporation with respect to the acquisition of real property estates, interests, and cooperative interests in realty, their design, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation and improvement, original furnishings and equipment, site development, and appurtenances of a local facility. See N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law 41.03
• community support services: means clinical, social, rehabilitative and other mental health services, programs and related administrative activities designed to enhance the community living skills and prevent the unnecessary hospitalization of the seriously impaired, chronically mentally ill population, who are eligible to receive services pursuant to section 41. See N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law 41.03
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• 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.
• Crisis intervention services: means the continuum to address crisis intervention, crisis stabilization, and crisis residential treatment needs that are wellness, resiliency, and recovery oriented. See N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law 36.03
• Crisis residential services: means a short-term residential program designed to provide residential and support services to persons with symptoms of mental illness who are at risk of or experiencing a psychiatric crisis. See N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law 36.03
• Crisis stabilization centers: means facilities providing short-term observation and crisis stabilization services jointly licensed by the office of mental health and the office of addiction services and supports under section 36. See N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law 36.03
• 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.
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• director: means the director of community services, who is the chief executive officer of a local governmental unit, by whatever title known. See N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law 41.03
• 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:
• 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}
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
• 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.
• Habeas corpus: A writ that is usually used to bring a prisoner before the court to determine the legality of his imprisonment. It may also be used to bring a person in custody before the court to give testimony, or to be prosecuted.
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• 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}
• 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.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• local facility: means a facility offering local services and includes a community mental health and developmental disabilities facility as defined in section three of the facilities development corporation act and, for the purposes of this article, a mental hygiene facility, as defined in said section, to be made available for use in providing local services under lease, sublease, license or permit from the facilities development corporation to one or more local governmental units or to a voluntary agency at the request of a commissioner of an office in the department. See N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law 41.03
• local government: means a county, except a county within the city of New York, and the city of New York. See N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law 41.03
• local governmental unit: means the unit of local government given authority in accordance with this chapter by local government to provide local services. See N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law 41.03
• local services: includes services for individuals with mental illness or developmental disabilities whose conditions, including but not limited to cerebral palsy and epilepsy, are associated with mental disabilities, and those suffering from alcoholism, alcohol abuse, substance abuse or substance dependence, which are provided by a local government or by a voluntary agency pursuant to a contract with a local governmental unit or the office of mental health. See N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law 41.03
• local services plan: means the plan of local services which is submitted by a local governmental unit and approved by the commissioner pursuant to section 41. See N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law 41.03
• Minority leader: See Floor Leaders
• Mobile crisis teams: means a team licensed, certified, or authorized by the office of mental health and the office of addiction services and supports to provide community-based mental health or substance use disorder interventions for individuals who are experiencing a mental health or substance use disorder crisis. See N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law 36.03
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• net operating costs: means operating costs from which have been deducted the following:
  
  (a) revenues for operating costs received from other state agencies or another local government pursuant to an agreement to purchase local services. See N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law 41.03
• NSPL: means the national network of local crisis centers that provide free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week via a toll-free hotline number, which receives calls made through the 9-8-8 system. See N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law 36.03
• 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.
• operating costs: means expenditures, excluding capital costs, incurred in the operation and maintenance of the community mental health, developmental disabilities, and alcoholism services board and of local facilities in accordance with this article and the regulations of the commissioner, by a local government or by a voluntary agency pursuant to a contract with a local governmental unit. See N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law 41.03
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• 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.
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Pretrial conference: A meeting of the judge and lawyers to discuss which matters should be presented to the jury, to review evidence and witnesses, to set a timetable, and to discuss the settlement of the case.
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• 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.
• User fees: Fees charged to users of goods or services provided by the government. In levying or authorizing these fees, the legislature determines whether the revenue should go into the treasury or should be available to the agency providing the goods or services.
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• voluntary agency: means a corporation organized or existing pursuant to the not-for-profit corporation law for the purpose of providing local services. See N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law 41.03
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.