Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes > Chapter 17 > Article 5 - Enforcement of Writ

• 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.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Bank: means a financial institution, including but not limited to a national bank, state chartered bank, savings bank, or credit union that is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or a comparable agency of the federal or state government. See North Carolina General Statutes 45A-3
• Borrower: means the maker of the promissory note evidencing the loan to be delivered at the closing. See North Carolina General Statutes 45A-3
• Certified check: means a check with respect to which the drawee bank certifies by signature on the check of an officer or other authorized employee of the bank that (i) the signature of the drawer on the check is genuine and the bank has set aside funds that are equal to the amount of the check and will be used to pay the check or (ii) the bank will pay the check upon presentment. See North Carolina General Statutes 45A-3
• Closing: means the time agreed upon by the purchaser, seller, and lender (if applicable), when the execution and delivery of the documents necessary to consummate the transaction contemplated by the parties to the contract occurs, and includes a loan closing. See North Carolina General Statutes 45A-3
• Closing funds: means the gross or net proceeds of the real estate transaction, including any loan funds, to be disbursed by the settlement agent as part of the disbursement of settlement proceeds on behalf of the parties. See North Carolina General Statutes 45A-3
• Collected funds: means funds deposited and irrevocably credited to a settlement agent's account used to fund the disbursement of settlement proceeds which account is a trust account, escrow account, or an account held by a company or its subsidiary which is licensed and supervised by the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks. See North Carolina General Statutes 45A-3
• 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.
• 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.
• Disbursement of settlement proceeds: means the payment of all closing funds from the transaction by the settlement agent to the persons or entities entitled to that payment. See North Carolina General Statutes 45A-3
• 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}
• 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.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
• 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.
• Impeachment: (1) The process of calling something into question, as in "impeaching the testimony of a witness." (2) The constitutional process whereby the House of Representatives may "impeach" (accuse of misconduct) high officers of the federal government for trial in the Senate.
• 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.
• Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
• 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.
• Lender: means any person or entity engaged in making or originating loans secured by mortgages or deeds of trust on real estate. See North Carolina General Statutes 45A-3
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Loan closing: means the time agreed upon by the borrower and lender, as applicable, when the execution and delivery of loan documents by the borrower occurs. See North Carolina General Statutes 45A-3
• Loan documents: means the note evidencing the debt due to the lender, the deed of trust or mortgage to secure that debt to the lender, and any other documents required by the lender to be executed by the borrower as part of the loan closing transaction. See North Carolina General Statutes 45A-3
• Loan funds: means the gross or net proceeds of the loan to be disbursed by the settlement agent as part of the disbursement of settlement proceeds on behalf of the borrower and lender. See North Carolina General Statutes 45A-3
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• National Bank: A bank that is subject to the supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. A national bank can be recognized because it must have "national" or "national association" in its name. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• parties: means the seller, purchaser, borrower, lender, and settlement agent, as applicable to the subject transaction. See North Carolina General Statutes 45A-3
• 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.
• property: shall include all property, both real and personal. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• 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.
• Right of rescission: Right to cancel, within three business days, a contract that uses the home of a person as collateral, except in the case of a first mortgage loan. There is no fee to the borrower, who receives a full refund of all fees paid. The right of rescission is guaranteed by the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). ^{Source: OCC}
• Settlement: means the time when the settlement agent has received the duly executed deed, deed of trust or mortgage, and other loan documents and funds required to carry out the terms of the contracts between the parties. See North Carolina General Statutes 45A-3
• 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.
• Settlement agent: means the person or persons responsible for conducting the settlement and disbursement of the settlement proceeds, and includes any individual, corporation, partnership, or other entity conducting the settlement and disbursement of the closing funds. See North Carolina General Statutes 45A-3
• state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• title transaction: means any transaction affecting title to any interest in real property, including but not limited to title by will or descent, title by tax deed, or by trustee's, referee's, commissioner's, guardian's, executor's, administrator's, or sheriff's deed, contract, lease or reservation, or judgment or order of any court, as well as warranty deed, quitclaim deed, or mortgage. See North Carolina General Statutes 47B-8
• Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. ^{Source: OCC}
• United States: shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.