Notice

1.

Information; means of knowledge.. A person is said to be chargeable with notice when information of the fact is communicated to him, or when knowledge of sufficient facts is brought home to him to induce a prudent man in like circumstances to make inquiry, or when a public record exists which the person ought, in law, to consult. In this sense of the word, notice is either actual or constructive. It is termed actual when the person to be affected received knowledge; when his mind was cognizant of the fact. It is called constructive, in various cases where the law treats a party as if he had received knowledge of the fact, upon grounds of public policy and general convenience in business, or because of his neglect of some duty of inquiry, or disregard of intimations which, if properly followed, would have procured for him the information. Thus, a principal or an officer is said to have constructive notice of facts made known to his agent or deputy; a purchaser of land has constnictive notice of a prior deed of the land by his grantee, which has been duly acknowledged and recorded. Hence "notice ' does no: of necessity implj actual knowledge; for whatever is sufficient to put a man of ordinary pritdence on an inquiry is constructive notice of every thing to which that inquiry would have led. Notice, in its full legal sense, embraces a knowledge of circumstances that ought to induce suspicion or belief, as well as direct information. Pringle v. Phil Ups, 6 Sandf, 157, 165. strued by its circumstances.

Lawrence v. Bowman, 1 Mc All. 419.

Notice is actual when it is directly and personally given to the party to be notified; and constructive, when the party, by circumstances, is put upon inquiry, and must be presumed to have had notice, or, by judgment of law, is held to have had notice.

Jordan v. Pollock, 14 Ga. 146.

Notice, in an act requiring that corporations should have same notice as natural persons of proceedings to sell an equity of redemption, was held not to apply to service of process. Vicksburg, &c.

R. R. Co. V. Mc Cutchen, 52 Miss. 645. 2.

A notice is a letter or memorandum containing information, apprising a person of a proceeding in which he has an interest, or otherwise giving knowledge of matters of fact, communicated in some pi-oper way, by advertisement, posting, personal service, &c. Notice, in a statute requiring notice to be given, means notice in writing.

Pearson v. Lovejoy, 53 Barb. 407.

The word imports something written, and given to the party for the purpose of apprising him.

Fry v. Bennett, 7 Abb. Pr. 352, 355.

Where a statute requires service of a notice upon an individual, personal service is meant, unless some other mode is specified.

Ruthbun v. Acker, 18 Barb. 393.

Notice, in a penal statute, was construed to mean personal notice, in St. Louis v, Goebel, 32 Mo. 295. Notices known by various names, in great number and variety, are known in legal proceedings. We mention some of the more common ones: Notice of action. When it is intended to sue certain particular individuals, as in the case of actions against justices of the peace, it is necessary in some juiisdictions to give them notice of the action some time before. Notice to admit. This is a notice given by either party to a writ, calling on the other to give an admission of the genuineness of a document; and if the party notified refuses, and the document is proved, he is liable to be charged •with any special expenses of making the proof, irrespective of the result upon the whole issue. Notice of appearance. A notice given by defendant to a plaintiff that he will come forward and defend the suit. See Appearance. Notice of dishonor, or protest. A setting forth that the person primarily liable has failed to make payment, and that the holder looks to the person notified. Strictly, protest is necessary only as to foreign bills of exchange; and the expression notice of protest is therefore scarcely applicable to checks, promissory notes, and inland bills; but it is often used as applicable to either. Notice of lis pendens. A notice that a suit is pending, allowed to be filed as matter of public record, to the end that no person shall deal with defendant, in respect to the subjectmatter of the suit, without opportunity to learn the plaintiff's claim. See Lis Pendens. Notice of motion. A notice given by either party in a suit, to the other, stating that, on a certain day designated, an application will be made to the court for the order or relief designated. Notice to plead. A notice which plaintiff, under some systems of practice, must give to a defendant that the latter is required to plead to the declaration or biU; and until this notice has been served, and has expired, no proceeding in the nature of default can take place. Notice to produce papers. A notice by one party in an action to the other to produce, at the trial, certain documents in his possession. With exceptions as to documents on which the action is founded, counterparts of originals, notices, &c., the general rule is that this notice to produce must have been given a reasonable time before the trial, or the party cannot introduce secondary evidence of the contents of the paper. Notice to quit A notice often required to be given by landlord to tenant, or by tenant to landlord, before the tenancy can be terminated.. Notice of trial. A notice given by plaintiff, or by defendant where he is allowed to be actor, apprising the other party that he intends to bring the cause to trial at the next term of the court.