Latin for Lawyers

SETTLEMENT

SETTLEMENT [L. sella / seat] The end of a controversy by agreement of the parties. The termination of a law suit by adjustment between the parties themselves, with or without the help of the court. The amount paid by one party to another under an agree ment disposing of a controversy between them. Also, a formal conveyance. The payment of an obligation. The final order entered upon a trustee’s account to the court. The occupation of unoccupied land by a settlor with the intent to claim title from the federal government. A place, region or area which people have occupied for their homes. SETTLOR [L. sella ] The person who creates a trust for the benefit of another. One who conveys or transfers property to another with instructions to act as trustee for the benefit of a third person or persons. SEVER, SEVERABLE [L. separo , separare / to separate, to set apart] To part; to put or keep apart. To divide. To cut apart. To cut in two. Capable of being separated. The act of dividing a property or asset into independent rights and obligations. A severable contract is an agreement which can be divided into sets of reciprocal rights and obligations; each set is separately enforceable without reference to the others. A severable contract is distin guished from an entire contract, in which full and complete performance is required of one party in exchange for the consideration furnished by the other party. A severable clause in a contract or statute is a clause which can be sep arated from the whole and declared void or invalid without affecting the validity of the rest. See SEPARABLE SEVERAL, SEVERALLY [L. separare , separatus / separate, apart] Separate or distinct from one another. More than two but fewer than many. Separately or individually bound or liable. In a group of similar things, the separation of the group into the individuals which comprise it, as in “to regu late commerce...among the several states (U.S. Constitution, Art. I.) To be jointly and severally liable is to be liable both together with others and also separately and individually, generally at the option of the plaintiff or obligee. SEVERALTY [L. separare ] Sole and exclusive ownership of property. An estate in severalty is the inter est of a sole tenant or owner, without any interest by any other person. SEVERANCE [L. separare ] The act of separating or severing. The act of removing anything attached or affixed to land, as an ore or mineral, which changes the character of the thing

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