Legal Dictionary of Pakistan
Quick lookup for English, Urdu, and Latin legal terms used in Pakistani jurisprudence.
Accelerated Cost Recovery System
An accounting method that is used to calculate as,,l depreciation and that allows for the faster re covery of costs by assigning the asset a shoru-r useful life than was previously permitted under the Internal Revenue Code. 0 This system iq; -plies to property put into service from 1981 t c 1986. It was replaced in 1986 by the Modifu~<i Accelerated Cost Recovery System. - Abbr. ACRS.
Asset-coverage test
accounting. A bond-indenture restriction that permits additional borrowing only if the ratio of assets (typically net tangible assets) to debt (typically long-term debt) does not fall below a specified minimum.
Cover
n. The purchase on the open market, by the buyer in a breach-of-contract dispute, of goods to substitute for those promised but never delivered by the seller. ( Under UCC ยง 2-712, the buyer can recover from the seller the difference between the cost of the substituted goods and the original contract price.
Coverage
n. 1. Inclusion of a risk under an insurance policy; the risks within the scope of an insurance policy. - cover, ub.
Discovery
n. 1. The act or process of finding or learning something that was previously unknown <after making the discovery, the inventor immediately applied for a patent>. 2. Compulsory disclosure, at a party's request, of information that relates to the litigation <the plaintiff filed a motion to compel discovery>. ( The primary discovery devices are interrogatories, depositions, requests for admissions, and requests for production. Although discovery typically comes from parties, courts also allow limited discovery from nonparties. 3. The facts or documents disclosed <the new associate spent all her time reviewing discovery>. -discover, vb. - discoverable, adj."Discovery has broad scope. According to Federal Rule 26, which is the model in modern procedural codes, inquiry may be made into 'any matter, not privileged, that is relevant to the subject matter of the action.' Thus, discovery may be had of facts incid
Double recovery
See RECOVERY.
Fine and Recovery Act
Hist. A statute, enacted in 1833, that abolished the use of fines as a method of conveying title to land. See FINE (1). 3 & 4 Will. 4, ch. 74.
Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System.
See ACCELERATED COST RECOVERY SYSTEM.
Newly discovered evidence.
See EVIDENCE.
Recover
vb. 1. To get back or regain in full or in equivalence <the landlord recovered higher operating costs by raising rent>. 2. To obtain by a judgment or other legal process <the plaintiff recovered punitive damages in the lawsuit>. 3. To obtain (a judgment) in one's favor <the plaintiff recovered a judgment against the defendant. 4. To obtain damages or other relief; to succeed in a lawsuit or other legal proceeding <the defendant argued that the plaintiff should not be allowed to recover for his own negligence>.
Recoverable
adj. Capable of being recovered, esp. as a matter of law <court costs and attorney's fees are recoverable under the statute. - recoverability, n.
abuse of discovery
See DISCOVERY ABUSE.
action for the recovery of land.
See EJECTMENT.
additional extended coverage.
Insurance. A policy endorsement providing supplemental residential coverage for a variety of perils, including vandalism, damage from falling trees, and water damage from the plumbing system.
bill of discovery.
A bill in equity seeking disclosure of facts within the adverse party's knowledge. See DISCOVERY.
capital recovery
The collection of charged-off bad debt that has been previously written off against the allowance for doubtful accounts.
common recovery
Hist. An elaborate proceeding, full of legal fictions, by which a tenant in tail disentailed a fee-tail estate. ( The action facilitated land transfer by allowing a potential transferee who was barred by law from receiving land to "recover" the land by suing the actual owner. Common recoveries, which were abolished early in the 19th century, were originally concocted by the clergy as a way to avoid the land-conveyance restrictions imposed by mortmain acts. - Also termed feigned recovery. See MORTMAIN STATUTE. Cf. CESSIO IN JURE; PRAECIPE QUOD REDDAT.
cover letter
See TRANSMITTAL LETTER.
cover note
A written statement by an insurance agent confirming that coverage is in effect. ( The cover note is distinguished from a binder, which is prepared by the insurance company.The Pocket Lawyer and Family Conveyancer 96 (3d ed. 1833).
cover-all clause
See MOTHER HUBBARD CLAUSE (2).
coverage opinion
A lawyer's opinion on whether a particular event is covered by a given insurance policy.
coverage ratio
A measurement of a firm's ability to cover its financing charges.
covered wages
Wages on which a person is required to pay social-security taxes.
covert baron
[Law French] Hist. The condition or status of a married woman at common law. - Also written cover-baron. - Also termed covert de baron. "By marriage, the husband and wife are one person in law: that is, the very being or legal existence of the woman is suspended during the marriage, or at least is incorporated and consolidated into that of the husband: under whose wing, protection, and cover, she performs every thing; and is therefore called in our law-french a (eme-covert; is said to be covert-baron, or under the protection and influence of her husband, her baron, or lord; and her condition during her marriage is called her couerture." 1 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 430 (1765).
coverture
n. Archaic. The condition of being a married woman <under former law, a woman under coverture was allowed to sue only through the personality of her husband>. - covert (kav-art), adj. "Coverture, is a french word signifying any thing that covereth, as apparell, a coverlet .... It is particularly applied in our common laws, to the estate and condition of a marled woman, who by the lawes of our realme, is in (potestate uiri) and therefore disabled to contract with any, to the preiudice of her selfe or her husband, without his consent and privity; or at the least, without his allowance and confirmation." John Cowell, The Interpreter (1607). "Couerture is by law applied to the state and condition of a married woman, who is sub potestati uiri, (under the power of her husband) and therefore unable to contract with any to the damage of herself or husband, without his consent and privity, or his allowance and confirmation thereof. When a woman is married she is called a Femme couuert, and whatever is done concerning her during marriage is said to be done during coverture."
dependent coverage
See COVERAGE.
discoverable
adj. Subject to pretrial discovery <the defendant's attorney argued that the defendant's income-tax returns were not discoverable during the liability phase of the trial>.
discovered-peril doctrine.
See LAST-CLEAR, CHANCE DOCTRINE.
discovert
adj. 1. Archaic. Uncovered; exposed. 2. Not married, esp. a widow or a woman who has never married.
discovery abuse.
1. The misuse of the discovery process, esp. by making overbroad requests for information that is unnecessary or beyond the scope of permissible disclosure. 2. The failure to respond adequately to proper discovery requests. - Also termed abuse of discovery."The term 'discovery abuse' has been used as if it were a single concept, but it includes several different things. Thus, it is useful to subdivide 'abuse' into 'misuse' and 'overuse.' What is referred to as 'misuse' would include not only direct violatio
discovery immunity
A (usu. statutory) prohibition that excludes certain documents or information from discovery.
discovery policy
See claims-made policy.
discovery rule.
Civil procedure. The rule that a limitations period does not begin to run until the plaintiff discovers (or reasonably should have discovered) the injury giving rise to the claim. ( The discovery rule usu. applies to injuries that are inherently difficult to detect, such as those resulting from medical malpractice. See STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS. Cf. OCCUR. RENCE RULE.
discovery vein
The primary vein for the purpose of locating a mining claim.
doctrine of illusory coverage
A rule requiring an insurance policy to be interpreted so that it is not merely a delusion to the insured.
double recovery
1. A judgment that erroneously awards damages twice for the same loss, based on two different theories of recovery. 2. Recovery by a party of more than the maximum recoverable loss that the party has sustained.
extended-coverage clause
Insurance. A policy provision that insures against hazards beyond those covered (or excluded) in the basic policy.
feigned recovery
See COMMON RECOVERY.
feme covert
[Law French] Archaic. A married woman. See COVERTURE.
full coverage
Insurance protection that pays for the full amount of a loss with no deduction. 2. The ratio between corporate pretax income and corporate liability for bond interest payments.
inadvertent discovery
Criminal procedure. A law-enforcement officer's unexpected finding of incriminating evidence in plain view. ( Even though this type of evidence is obtained without a warrant, it can be used against the accused under the plain-view exception to the warrant requirement.
inevitable-discovery rule
Criminal procedure. The rule providing - as an exception to the fruit-of-the-poisonous-tree doctrine - that evidence obtained by illegal means may nonetheless be admissible if the prosecution can show that the evidence would eventually have been legally obtained anyway. See FRUIT-OF-THE-POISONOUS-TREE DOCTRINE. Cf INDEPENDENTSOURCE RULE.
interest-coverage ratio
The ratio between a company's pretax earnings and the annual interest payable on bonds and loans.
mail cover
A process by which the U.S. Postal Service provides a government agency with information on the face of an envelope or package (such as a postmark) for the agency's use in locating a fugitive, identifying a coconspirator, or obtaining other evidence necessary to solve a crime.
market-recovery program
See JOB-TARGETING PROGRAM.
motion to compel discovery
A party's request that the court force the party's opponent to respond to the party's discovery request (as to answer interrogatories or produce documents). Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(x). - Often shortened to motion to compel. - Also termed motion to enforce discovery.
motion to enforce discovery
See MOTION TO COMPEL DISCOVERY.
newly discovered evidence
Evidence existing at the time of a motion or trial but then unknown to a party, who, upon later discovering it, may assert it as grounds for reconsideration or a new trial.
noncovered wages
Wages on which a person is not required to pay social-security taxes.
postjudgment discovery
Discovery conducted after judgment has been rendered, usu. to determine the nature of the judgment debtor's assets or to obtain testimony for use in future proceedings. - Also termed posttrial discovery.