Sections
Article 2 Pleadings Generally 8.01-271 – 8.01-281
Article 3 Particular Equity Provisions 8.01-282 – 8.01-284

Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 8.01 > Chapter 7 - Civil Actions; Commencement, Pleadings, and Motions

  • Agent: has the meaning assigned to it in § 13. See Virginia Code 6.2-1013
  • Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • Bank: has the meaning assigned to it in § 6. See Virginia Code 6.2-1047
  • Bank holding company: has the meaning assigned to it in § 6. See Virginia Code 6.2-1047
  • Bank under common ownership: means a bank of which 80 percent or more of its common stock is owned, directly or indirectly through a subsidiary, by the same Virginia bank holding company as owns, directly or indirectly through a subsidiary, at least 80 percent of the stock of the subsidiary bank substituted as fiduciary. See Virginia Code 6.2-1047
  • 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
  • Control: means (i) ownership by a person of 25 percent or more of the voting stock of a trust company; (ii) control as defined in the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U. See Virginia Code 6.2-1013
  • Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
  • Court: means any court vested with appropriate jurisdiction under the Constitution and laws of the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 19.2-5
  • Critically missing adult: means an adult, including an adult who has a developmental disability, intellectual disability, or mental illness as those terms are defined in § 37. See Virginia Code 52-34.10
  • Critically missing adult alert: means the notice of a critically missing adult provided to the public by the media or other methods under a Critically Missing Adult Alert Agreement. See Virginia Code 52-34.10
  • Critically Missing Adult Alert Agreement: means a voluntary agreement between law-enforcement officials and members of the media whereby an adult will be declared missing, and the public will be notified by media outlets, and includes all other incidental conditions of the partnership as found appropriate by the Virginia State Police. See Virginia Code 52-34.10
  • Critically Missing Adult Alert Program: means the procedures and Critically Missing Adult Alert Agreements to aid in the identification and location of a critically missing adult. See Virginia Code 52-34.10
  • Department: means the Virginia Department of Forensic Science. See Virginia Code 19.2-11.5
  • Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
  • Division: means the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services of the Virginia Department of General Services. See Virginia Code 19.2-11.5
  • 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
  • farmland: includes all land defined as follows:

    "Important farmland" other than prime or unique farmland, is land that is of statewide or local importance for the production of food, feed, fiber, forage, nursery, oilseed, or other agricultural crops, as determined by the appropriate state agency or local government agency, and that the U. See Virginia Code 3.2-205

  • Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
  • Fiduciary capacity: means every capacity in which a trust institution is granted the right to act pursuant to § 6. See Virginia Code 6.2-1047
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Law-enforcement agency: means the state or local law-enforcement agency with the primary responsibility for investigating an alleged sexual assault offense case and includes the employees of that agency. See Virginia Code 19.2-11.5
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Media: means print, radio, television, and Internet-based communication systems or other methods of communicating information to the public. See Virginia Code 52-34.10
  • Media: means print, radio, television, and Internet-based communication systems or other methods of communicating information to the public. See Virginia Code 52-34.13
  • Missing person with autism: means any person (i) whose whereabouts are unknown; (ii) who has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder as defined in § 38. See Virginia Code 52-34.13
  • Missing Person with Autism Alert: means the notice of a missing person with autism provided to the public by the media or other methods under a Missing Person with Autism Alert Agreement. See Virginia Code 52-34.13
  • Missing Person with Autism Alert Agreement: means a voluntary agreement between law-enforcement officials and members of the media whereby a person with autism will be declared missing, and the public will be notified by media outlets, and includes all other incidental conditions of the partnership as found appropriate by the Virginia State Police. See Virginia Code 52-34.13
  • Nonlegislative citizen member: means any natural person who is not a member of the General Assembly of Virginia. See Virginia Code 1-225
  • Owning bank: means a bank owning 10 percent or more of the shares of a trust subsidiary. See Virginia Code 6.2-1047
  • Person: shall include individuals, a trust, an estate, a partnership, an association, an order, a corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity;

    6. See Virginia Code 8.01-2

  • 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
  • Physical evidence recovery kit: means any evidence collection kit supplied by the Department to health care providers for use in collecting evidence from victims of sexual assault during forensic medical examinations or to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for use during death investigations to collect evidence from decedents who may be victims of sexual assault. See Virginia Code 19.2-11.5
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Plea agreement: An arrangement between the prosecutor, the defense attorney, and the defendant in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for special considerations. Source:
  • 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.
  • Preliminary hearing: A hearing where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to make the defendant have a trial.
  • Pro se: A Latin term meaning "on one's own behalf"; in courts, it refers to persons who present their own cases without lawyers.
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • Program: means the procedures and Missing Person with Autism Alert Agreements to aid in the identification and location of a missing person with autism. See Virginia Code 52-34.13
  • Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
  • Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
  • Sexual assault offense: means a violation or attempted violation of any offense enumerated in Article 7 (§ 18. See Virginia Code 19.2-11.5
  • Subsidiary bank: means a bank authorized to exercise trust powers, at least 80 percent of the outstanding shares of which are owned directly or indirectly through a subsidiary by a Virginia bank holding company. See Virginia Code 6.2-1047
  • subsidiary trust company: means a corporation organized under Chapter 9 of Title 13. See Virginia Code 6.2-1000
  • Trace evidence collection kit: means any evidence collection kit supplied by the Department to health care providers for use in collecting evidence from victims of strangulation during forensic medical examinations or to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for use during death investigations to collect evidence from decedents who may be victims of strangulation. See Virginia Code 19.2-11.5 v2
  • Trust business: means the holding out by a person or legal entity to the public at large by advertising, solicitation or other means that the person or legal entity is available to act as a fiduciary in the Commonwealth or is accepting and undertaking to perform the duties of a fiduciary in the regular course of its business. See Virginia Code 6.2-1000
  • Trust company: means a corporation, including an affiliated trust company, that is authorized to engage in the trust business under Article 2 (§ 6. See Virginia Code 6.2-1000
  • Trust institution: means any (i) bank authorized to engage in the trust business, (ii) trust company, or (iii) trust subsidiary. See Virginia Code 6.2-1000
  • Trust subsidiary under common ownership: means a trust subsidiary at least 80 percent or more of which is owned, directly or indirectly through a subsidiary, by the same Virginia bank holding company as owns, directly or indirectly through a subsidiary, at least 80 percent of the stock of the subsidiary bank substituted as fiduciary. See Virginia Code 6.2-1047
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
  • Victim Impact Statement: A written or spoken statement by the victim or his or her representative about the physical, emotional, and financial impact of a crime on the victim. The statement is given to the court before sentencing.
  • Victim of sexual assault: means any person who undergoes a forensic medical examination for the collection of a physical evidence recovery kit connected to a sexual assault offense. See Virginia Code 19.2-11.5
  • Victim of strangulation: means any person who undergoes a forensic medical examination for the collection of evidence in connection with an alleged strangulation. See Virginia Code 19.2-11.5 v2
  • Virginia bank holding company: means a bank holding company that, directly or indirectly through a subsidiary, owns or controls a bank the main office of which is located in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 6.2-1047