complaint
n. the first document filed with the court (actually with the County Clerk or Clerk of the
Court) by a person or entity claiming legal rights against another. The party filing the
complaint is usually called the plaintiff and the party against whom the complaint is filed is
called the defendant or defendants. Complaints are pleadings and must be drafted carefully
(usually by an attorney) to properly state the factual as well as legal basis for the claim,
although some states have approved complaint forms which can be filled in by an individual.
A complaint also must follow statutory requirements as to form. For example, a complaint
must be typed on a specific type of paper or on forms approved by the courts, name both
the party making the claim and all defendants, and should state what damages or
performance is demanded (the prayer). When the complaint is filed, the court clerk will
issue a summons, which gives the name and file number of the lawsuit and the address of
the attorney filing the complaint, and instructs the defendant that he/she/it has a specific
time to file an answer or other response. A copy of the complaint and the summons must
be served on a defendant before a response is required. Under a unique statute, New York
allows a summons to be served without a complaint. A complaint filing must be
accompanied by a filing fee payable to the court clerk, unless a waiver based on poverty is
obtained.

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ex parte
(ex par-tay, but popularly, ex party) adj. Latin meaning "for one party," referring to motions,
hearings or orders granted on the request of and for the benefit of one party only. This is an
exception to the basic rule of court procedure that both parties must be present at any
argument before a judge, and to the otherwise strict rule that an attorney may not notify a
judge without previously notifying the opposition. Ex parte matters are usually temporary
orders (like a restraining order or temporary custody) pending a formal hearing or an
emergency request for a continuance. Most jurisdictions require at least a diligent attempt
to contact the other party's lawyer of the time and place of any ex parte hearing.

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motion
n. a formal request made to a judge for an order or judgment. Motions are made in court all
the time for many purposes: to continue (postpone) a trial to a later date, to get a
modification of an order, for temporary child support, for a judgment, for dismissal of the
opposing party's case, for a rehearing, for sanctions (payment of the moving party's costs
or attorney's fees), or for dozens of other purposes. Most motions require a written petition,
a written brief of legal reasons for granting the motion (often called "points and authorities"),
written notice to the attorney for the opposing party and a hearing before a judge. However,
during a trial or a hearing, an oral motion may be permitted.

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plaintiff
n. the party who initiates a lawsuit by filing a complaint with the clerk of the court against
the defendant(s) demanding damages, performance and/or court determination of rights.

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restraining order
n. a temporary order of a court to keep conditions as they are (like not taking a child out of
the county or not selling marital property) until there can be a hearing in which both parties
are present. More properly it is called a temporary restraining order (shortened to TRO).
 
 

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preliminary injunction
n. a court order made in the early stages of a lawsuit or petition which prohibits the parties
from doing an act which is in dispute, thereby maintaining the status quo until there is a
final judgment after trial.

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brief
1) n. a written legal argument, usually in a format prescribed by the courts, stating the legal
reasons for the suit based on statutes, regulations, case precedents, legal texts, and
reasoning applied to facts in the particular situation. A brief is submitted to lay out the
argument for various petitions and motions before the court (sometimes called "points and
authorities"), to counter the arguments of opposing lawyers, and to provide the judge or
judges with reasons to rule in favor of the party represented by the brief writer. Occasionally
on minor or follow-up legal issues, the judge will specify that a letter or memorandum brief
will be sufficient. On appeals and certain other major arguments, the brief is bound with
color-coded covers stipulated in state and/or federal court rules. Ironically, although the
term was originally intended to mean a brief or summary argument (shorter than an oral
presentation), legal briefs are quite often notoriously long. 2) v. to summarize a precedent
case or lay out in writing a legal argument. Attentive law students "brief" each case in their
casebooks, which means extracting the rule of law, the reasoning (rationale), the essential
facts, and the outcome. 3) v. to give a summary of important information to another person.

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minutes
n. 1) the written record of meetings, particularly of boards of directors and/or shareholders
of corporations, kept by the secretary of the corporation or organization. 2) the record of
courtroom proceedings, such as the start and recess of hearings and trials, names of
attorneys, witnesses and rulings of the court, kept by the clerk of the court or the judge.
Such court minutes are not a transcript of everything that is said, which is taken down by
the court reporter if recorded at all.

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chambers
n. the private office of a judge, usually close to the courtroom so that the judge can enter
the court from behind the bench and not encounter people on the way. Judges hear some
motions, discuss formal legal problems like jury instructions, or conduct hearings on
sensitive matters such as adoptions "in chambers."

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summons
n. a document issued by the court at the time a lawsuit is filed, stating the name of both
plaintiff and defendant, the title and file number of the case, the court and its address, the
name and address of the plaintiff's attorney, and instructions as to the need to file a
response to the complaint within a certain time (such as 30 days after service), usually
with a form on the back on which information of service of summons and complaint is to be
filled out and signed by the process server. A copy of the summons must be served on
each defendant at the same time as the complaint to start the time running for the
defendant to answer. Certain writs and orders to show cause are served instead of a
summons since they contain the same information along with special orders of the court.
After service to the defendants, the original summons, along with the "return of service"
proving the summons and complaint were served, is filed with the court to show that each
defendant was served. A summons differs from a subpena, which is an order to a witness
to appear.

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defendant
n. 1) the party sued in a civil lawsuit or the party charged with a crime in a criminal
prosecution. In some types of cases (such as divorce) a defendant may be called a
respondent.

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affidavit
n. 1) any written document in which the signer swears under oath before a notary public or
someone authorized to take oaths (like a County Clerk), that the statements in the
document are true. 2) in many states a declaration under penalty of perjury, which does not
require the oath-taking before a notary, is the equivalent of an affidavit.

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 assett freeze
No one can access it, without permission from the courts, excluding the authorities to
obtain it, for purposes of accounting, consumer redress, or proof of evidence. A freeze is placed on all accessible accounts, caused by the alledged perpetrator[s], until such time the court
deems it final, or removes such restriction to access the fund[s].

ASSET - Property, including real property (for example, land or
buildings) and personal property (for example, cash, stocks or
vehicles) that belongs to a person, corporation, estate, or other
entity; A resource that has economic value to its owner. Examples
of an asset are cash, accounts receivable, inventory, real estate, and securities.

ASSETS. The property in the hands of an heir, executor,
administrator or trustee, which is legally or equitably
chargeable with the obligations, which such heir, executor,
administrator or other trustee, is, as such, required to
discharge, is called assets. The term is derived from the French
word assez, enough; that is, the heir or trustee has enough
property. But the property is still called assets, although there
may not be enough to discharge all the obligations; and the heir,
executor, etc., is chargeable in distribution as far as such
property extends.

Assets are sometimes divided by all the old writers, into assets
enter mains and assets per descent; considered as to their mode
of distribution, they are 1egal or equitable; as to the property
from which they arise, they are real or personal.

Assets enter maim, or assets in hand, is such property as at once
comes to the executor or other trustee, for the purpose of
satisfying claims against him as such.

Assets per descent, is that portion of the ancestor's estate
which descends to the heir, and which is sufficient to charge
him, as far as it goes, with the specialty debts of his ancestor.

Legal assets, are such as constitute the fund for the payment of
debts according to their legal priority.

Equitable assets, are such as can be reached only by the aid of a
court of equity, and are to be divided,, pari passu, among all
the creditors; as when a debtor has made his property subject to
his debts generally, which, without his act would not have been so subject.

Real assets, are such as descend to the heir, as in estate in fee simple.

Personal assets, are such goods and chattels to which the
executor or administrator is entitled.

In commerce, by assets is understood all the stock in trade,
cash, and all available property belonging to a merchant or company.

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