Latin for Lawyers

L ATIN FOR L AWYERS

last resort is the highest appellate court in a jurisdiction. In New York, the court of last resort is the Court of Appeals. COVENANT [L. convenire / to meet, to assemble, to agree upon] A contract. An enforceable agreement between two or more parties providing for the performance or non-performance of certain specified acts. A provision in a contract or in a legal document such as a deed or mortgage. Promises relating to conveyances of real property. For example, a covenant of quiet enjoyment is a promise by the grantor that no one will disturb the grantee by claiming a superior title or the right of possession. A covenant of seisin is a warranty to the grantee that the grantor owns the estate he is conveying. COVER [L. cooperio, cooperire / to cover, envelop, overwhelm] To guard from attack. To protect or secure against, especially by providing compensation or indemnity for. To provide funds for, such as to cover a check . To conceal from sight or disclosure. To engage in business or to per form services within a designated area, as in “he covers the whole state in his delivery truck.” In the law of sales, the purchase of goods by a buyer in sub stitution for goods which his seller has failed to deliver as agreed. Under the Uniform Commercial Code, the buyer has the option of covering and suing for the difference between the cost of cover and the original purchase price, or of seeking damages for the seller's nonperformance. COVERTURE [L. cooperire / to cover, envelop] Under the common law, the status of a married woman, originally including the inability to own property in her own right. CRASSA NEGLIGENTIA [L. crassus / dense, thick + negligentia / careless ness, negligence] Gross negligence. CREDIBILITY, CREDIBLE [L. credo, credere / to trust, rely upon, believe] Entitled to be believed. The quality of inducing trust or belief. In law, facts or circumstances which merit belief. Credible evidence is evidence which appears to a reasonable person to be reliable proof, not only because it pro ceeds from a reliable source, but also because it conforms to general experi ence and is inherently plausible. A credible witness is one who gives credible evidence . CREDIT [L. credo, credere / to entrust, commit to the custody of, trust] The balance in a person's account. The sum on deposit by a person in a bank or trust account. That sum of money which one person is willing to permit another person to owe and to pay later. Any one item, or the sum of all items, entered on the right side of the ledger in double-entry bookkeeping. To sup-

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