Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 18.2 > Chapter 8 > Article 4 - Family Offenses; Crimes Against Children, Etc.

• Adult: means a person 18 years of age or more. See Virginia Code 1-203
• Alternate operator services provider: means a telecommunications company, other than a local exchange company or interexchange company certificated by the State Corporation Commission or an affiliate or agent of such a company, which provides intrastate long distance operator assisted services where human or automated call intervention is necessary for obtaining billing information from the end-user. See Virginia Code 59.1-425
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Board: means the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services. See Virginia Code 59.1-434.1
• City: means an independent incorporated community which became a city as provided by law before noon on July 1, 1971, or which has within defined boundaries a population of 5,000 or more and which has become a city as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-208
• 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 Agriculture and Consumer Services or his designee. See Virginia Code 59.1-434.1
• 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.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Division: means the Division of Consumer Counsel in the Department of Law. See Virginia Code 59.1-429
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Handling charge: means any charge, fee or sum of money which is paid by a consumer to receive a prize, gift or any item of value including, but not limited to, promotional fees, redemption fees, registration fees or delivery costs. See Virginia Code 59.1-415
• Home service contract: means a contract or agreement for a separately stated consideration for any duration to perform the service, repair, replacement, or maintenance of property or to indemnify for the costs of service, repair, replacement, or maintenance, for the operational failure of any property due to a defect in materials, workmanship, inherent defect, or normal wear and tear, with or without additional provisions for incidental payment of indemnity under limited circumstances. See Virginia Code 59.1-434.1
• in writing: include any representation of words, letters, symbols, numbers, or figures, whether (i) printed or inscribed on a tangible medium or (ii) stored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in a perceivable form and whether an electronic signature authorized by Chapter 42. See Virginia Code 1-257
• Includes: means includes, but not limited to. See Virginia Code 1-218
• Information provider: means any person providing pay-per-call services. See Virginia Code 59.1-429
• item: means any item or service with monetary value. See Virginia Code 59.1-415
• 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.
• Locality: means a county, city, or town as the context may require. See Virginia Code 1-221
• Long distance carrier: means any interexchange telephone company providing services within the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 59.1-429
• Pay-per-call service: means any passive, interactive, polling, conference, or other similar audiotext service that is accessed through a 900 number exchange or otherwise, and generates a service-related fee billed to a telephone customer. See Virginia Code 59.1-415
• Pay-per-call service: means any passive, interactive, polling, conference, or other similar audiotext service that is accessed by telephone, through a 900 number exchange or otherwise, and generates a service-related fee billed to a telephone customer. See Virginia Code 59.1-429
• Person: means any natural person, corporation, trust, partnership, association and any other legal entity. See Virginia Code 59.1-415
• Person: means individual and entity. See Virginia Code 59.1-425
• Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• 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}
• Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
• Property: means any component, part, appliance, or household system of a residential property that is covered by a contract, whether such component, part, appliance, or household system is personal property or is affixed as real property to the covered residential property. See Virginia Code 59.1-434.1
• Provider: means a person that is contractually obligated to the purchaser under the terms of the home service contract. See Virginia Code 59.1-434.1
• Public telephone equipment provider: means any person who makes available for public use telephone equipment with access to the public switched network where a charge is made to the user for such use and intrastate local or long distance service is provided through such equipment by an alternate operator services provider. See Virginia Code 59.1-425
• Purchaser: means a person who enters into a home service contract with a provider. See Virginia Code 59.1-434.1
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Telephone company: means a certificated local exchange telephone company which owns, manages, or controls any plant or equipment or any part of a plant or equipment within the Commonwealth for the conveyance of telephone messages, either directly or indirectly. See Virginia Code 59.1-429
• Town: means any existing town or an incorporated community within one or more counties which became a town before noon, July 1, 1971, as provided by law or which has within defined boundaries a population of 1,000 or more and which has become a town as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-254
• United States: includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-255
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.