Civil Law Terminology

  • Contract Dispute– contracting parties disagree upon (i) formation of an agreement, whether oral or written agreement, (ii) validity of the agreement, (iii) performance of the agreement, or (iv) any of the terms and conditions of the agreement.
  • Debt Collection – a legal process of enforcing a contractual (whether oral or written contract) or legal obligation by debtor to pay creditor or enforcing a monetary judgment against the judgment debtor.
  • Employment Discrimination – whenever an employer adversely singles out an employee or job applicant on the basis of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion and a variety of other reasons as proscribed in the following federal statutes (a non-exhaustive list): Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; Civil Rights Act of 1964
    Civil Rights Act of 1991; Equal Pay Act of 1963; Whistleblower Protection Act and other state laws.
  • Insurance – a form of risk management where the policy holder, also known as the insured, transfers the risk of loss to another entity, known as insurer, by paying certain consideration, known as the premium. Insurance allows individuals, businesses and other entities to protect themselves against significant losses and financial hardship at a reasonably affordable rate.
  • Real Estate – also known as real property, is a legal term that refers to properties in contrast with personal property. It refers to land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings. Real estate law is the body of laws, rules and regulations that apply to transactions (such as sale/purchase or lease) and litigations involving real properties, either commercial or residential real property.
  • Unfair Competition – refers to a number of acts by one competitor which harm another in the industry. The most common acts include, but are not limited to: anti-trust violations (by forcing competitors out of market through illegal tactics such as predatory pricing, price fixing or designation of markets with competitors, obtaining exclusive purchase rights to raw materials, etc); trademark infringement and passing off (by using trademark, trade name, logo, or other identifying characteristics to deceive consumers into thinking that they are buying the product made from another source), misappropriation of trade secretes (by using illegal means, such as espionage, bribery, or outright theft to obtain economically advantageous information in the possession of another which are not public information); trade libel (by spreading of false information about the quality or characteristics of a competitor’s products), tortious interference with contract (by convincing a party having a relationship with another competitor to breach a contract with, or duty to, the other competitor).