Terms Used In New York Laws > Retirement and Social Security > Article 2 > Title 4 - Participation In System By Political Subdivisions and Other Organizations

• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• 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.
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attorney-in-fact: A person who, acting as an agent, is given written authorization by another person to transact business for him (her) out of court.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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}
• Financially impaired: means a risk retention group:
  
  (1) whose admitted assets are less than the sum of its aggregate liabilities and the amount of surplus to policyholders required to be maintained by a domestic risk retention group authorized to do the same kind or kinds of insurance; or
  
  (2) whose admitted assets are less than the sum of its aggregate liabilities and outstanding capital stock; or
  
  (3) which is insolvent. See N.Y. Insurance Law 5902
• Hazardous financial condition: means that, based on its present or reasonably anticipated financial condition, a risk retention group, although not yet financially impaired, is unlikely to be able:
  
  (1) to meet obligations to policyholders with respect to known claims and reasonably anticipated claims; or
  
  (2) to pay other obligations in the normal course of business. See N.Y. Insurance Law 5902
• Insurance: means primary insurance, excess insurance, reinsurance, excess line insurance, and any other arrangement for shifting and distributing risk which is determined to be insurance under the laws of this state. See N.Y. Insurance Law 5902
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Liability: means legal liability for damages (including costs of defense, legal costs and fees, and other claims expenses) because of injuries to other persons, damage to their property, or other damage or loss to such other persons resulting from or arising out of:
  
  (1) (A) any business (whether profit or nonprofit), trade, product, services (including professional services), premises, or operations; or
  
  (B) any activity of any state or local government, or any agency or political subdivision thereof; and
  
  (2) does not include personal risk liability and an employer's liability with respect to its employees other than legal liability under the Federal Employers' Liability Act (45 U. See N.Y. Insurance Law 5902
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• member: shall include each person who during the qualifying period was in the employment of a public employer which then participated for such employees in a public retirement system in this state, irrespective of whether the person was a participant in such system at that time, provided that the person has become a participant in such retirement system and has purchased service credit for a period of time that includes some or all of the qualifying period in accordance with provisions of law applicable to such purchase of service credit. See N.Y. Retirement and Social Security Law 2
• 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.
• 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.
• 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}
• Purchasing group: means any group formed pursuant to the federal liability risk retention act of 1986 which:
  
  (1) has as one of its purposes the purchase of liability insurance on a group basis;
  
  (2) purchases such insurance only for its group members and only to cover their similar or related liability exposure, as described in paragraph three of this subsection;
  
  (3) is composed of members whose businesses or activities are similar or related with respect to the liability to which members are exposed by virtue of any related, similar, or common business, trade, product, services, premises, or operations; and
  
  (4) is domiciled in any state. See N.Y. Insurance Law 5902
• 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.
• Risk retention group: means any corporation or other limited liability association formed pursuant to the federal liability risk retention act of 1986:
  
  (1) whose primary activity consists of assuming and spreading all, or any portion, of the liability exposure of its group members;
  
  (2) which is organized for the primary purpose of conducting the activity described under paragraph one of this subsection;
  
  (3) which:
  
  (A) is chartered and licensed as a liability insurance company and authorized to engage in the business of insurance under the laws of any state; or
  
  (B) before January first, nineteen hundred eighty-five, was chartered or licensed and authorized to engage in the business of insurance under the laws of Bermuda or the Cayman Islands and, before such date, had certified to the insurance commissioner of at least one state that it satisfied the capitalization requirements of such state, except that any such group shall be considered to be a risk retention group only if it has been engaged in business continuously since such date and only for the purpose of continuing to provide insurance to cover product liability or completed operations liability;
  
  (4) which does not exclude any person from membership in the group solely to provide for members of such a group a competitive advantage over such a person;
  
  (5) which:
  
  (A) has as its owners only persons who comprise the membership of the risk retention group and who are provided insurance by such group; or
  
  (B) has as its sole owner an organization which has as its members only persons who comprise the membership of the risk retention group and which organization has as its owners only persons who comprise the membership of the risk retention group and who are provided insurance by the risk retention group;
  
  (6) whose members are engaged in businesses or activities similar or related with respect to the liability of which such members are exposed by virtue of any related, similar, or common business trade, product, services, premises or operations;
  
  (7) whose activities do not include the provision of insurance other than:
  
  (A) liability insurance for assuming and spreading all or any portion of the liability of its group members; and
  
  (B) reinsurance with respect to the liability of any other risk retention group (or any member of such other risk retention group) which is engaged in businesses or activities which meet the requirement described in paragraph six of this subsection for membership in the risk retention group which provides such reinsurance; and
  
  (8) the name of which includes the phrase "risk retention group". See N.Y. Insurance Law 5902
• State: means any state of the United States or the District of Columbia. See N.Y. Insurance Law 5902
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Superintendent: means the superintendent of financial services of this state. See N.Y. Insurance Law 5902