Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 8.01 > Chapter 27 - Virginia Prisoner Litigation Reform Act

• Access partner: means a person that, at the person's physical location in the Commonwealth, facilitates the making and servicing of a loan through provision of some or all of the services described in § 6. See Virginia Code 6.2-1500
• 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.
• Chief: means the Chief of the Division of Mines of the Department of Energy. See Virginia Code 45.2-100
• 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
• Commission: means the State Corporation Commission. See Virginia Code 6.2-100
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Financial Institutions. See Virginia Code 6.2-100
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Cotton gin: means a facility where cotton seed and cotton lint are produced from raw cotton. See Virginia Code 3.2-4764
• Cotton handler: means any person doing business as a cotton gin, cotton merchant, or cotton warehouse. See Virginia Code 3.2-4764
• Cotton merchant: means any person who buys cotton from a producer for the purpose of resale, or acts as a broker or agent for a producer in arranging the sale of cotton. See Virginia Code 3.2-4764
• Cotton warehouse: means any enclosure in which producer-owned cotton is stored or held for longer than 48 hours. See Virginia Code 3.2-4764
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• 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.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Entity: means any corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or other legal or commercial entity. See Virginia Code 6.2-100
• 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.
• Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. ^{Source: OCC}
• In forma pauperis: In the manner of a pauper. Permission given to a person to sue without payment of court fees on claim of indigence or poverty.
• 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
• 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.
• Licensee: means a consumer finance company to which a license has been issued by the Commission pursuant to this chapter. See Virginia Code 6.2-1500
• Person: means any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or other legal or commercial entity. See Virginia Code 6.2-100
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• Principal: means any person who, directly or indirectly, owns or controls (i) 10 percent or more of the outstanding stock of a stock corporation or (ii) a 10 percent or greater interest in another person. See Virginia Code 6.2-1500
• Pro se: A Latin term meaning "on one's own behalf"; in courts, it refers to persons who present their own cases without lawyers.
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• 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.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• 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
• Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• 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.