The popular name for the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947, whose purpose is to protect employers' rights by broadening their rights to free speech and unionization; by permitting them to disregard unions formed by supervisory personnel by outlawing the closed shop; by permitting employees to refrain from union activity; by limiting employee elections on whether to unionize to one per year; by prohibiting unions from forcing an employee to join, from forcing an employer to discriminate against non union employees, from refusing to bargain collectively with the employer, from engaging in wildcat strikes, from charging discriminatory membership fees, and from extracting favors or kickbacks from employers.

The popular term given to a person's assertion of his fifth Amendment right not to give evidence that will incriminate himself.

The right to possess an estate, whether by lease or by title. In general, tenancy refers to any right to hold property. It also refers to holding in subordination to another's title, as in the landlord-tenant relationship.

One who holds land by any kind of title or right, whether permanently or temporarily; one who purchases an estate and is entitled to possession, whether exclusive or to be shared with others; one who leases premises from the owner or from a tenant.

One who makes and executes a testament or will. Testator applies to man, testatrix to a woman.

Statement made by a witness, under oath, usually related to a legal proceeding or legislative hearing; evidence given by a competent witness under oath, as distinguished from evidence derived from writing and other sources.

Ownership; a term used in property law to denote the composite of facts that will permit one to recover or to retain possession of a thing. A "defect" in title is referred to as a cloud on title.

An investigation of documents in the public record office to determine the state of a title, including all liens, encumbrances, mortgages, etc., affecting the property; the means in which a chain of title is ascertained.

An injury to one person for which the person who caused the injury is legally responsible. A tort can be intentional, for example, an angry punch in the nose, but is far more likely to result from carelessness (called "negligence"), such as riding your bicycle on the sidewalk and colliding with a pedestrian. While the injury that forms the basis of a tort is usually physical, this is not a requirement, libel, slander, and the "intentional infliction of mental distress" are on a good-sized list of torts not based on a physical injury.

Any mark, word, letter, number, design, picture or combination thereof in any form, which is adopted and used by a person to denominate goods that he makes, is affixed to the goods, and is neither a common or generic name for the goods nor a picture of them, nor is merely descriptive of the goods. Protection from infringement on a trademark is afforded by law.

A judicial examination of issues between parties, whether they are issues of law or fact, before a court that has jurisdiction over the cause. Trials are governed by established procedures and court rules, and usually involve offering of testimony or evidence.

Court of original jurisdiction, where matters are to be litigated first and where all evidence relative to a cause is received and considered. All states differentiate between trial courts and appellant courts. The distinction is that it is the function of the trial court first to determine the facts and the law in a case, with the appellant court acting predominantly as a court of review of law, but not fact.

An officer or body having authority to adjudicate matters.

1. An entity that holds assets for the benefit of certain other persons or entities. The person holding legal title or interest, who has responsibility for the assets and distribution of the assets or distribution of the income generated by such assets, is the trustee. The beneficiary is the person for whose benefit the trust is created. 2. Any relationship in which one acts as a guardian of fiduciary in relation to anothers property. Thus, a deposit of money in a bank is a trust, or the receipt of money to be applied to a particular purpose or to be paid to another is a trust.

One who holds legal title to property in trust for the benefit of another person, and who is required to carry out specific duties with regard to the property, or who has been given power affecting the disposition of property for another's benefit.

A federal law, the provisions of which assure individuals applying for commercial credit information relating to the cost of credit, enabling them to decide which credit source offers them the most favorable credit terms. Under this law, the commercial lender must inform the borrower of the dollar amount of the interest charges and the interest rate, computed on an annual basis according to the specified formula, and must afford borrowers who pledge real property as security for the loan a three-day period in which to rescind the transaction.