Definitions from Case Law

While a statutory review is important and must be exercised without discrimination, such a review is not a requirement of due process.

By this statute a right of action upon the bond is created in favor of certain creditors of the contractor. The cause of action did not exist before, and is the creature of the sta

the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment requires that the statutory ceiling placed on imprisonment for any substantive offense be the same for all defendants irresp

[I]t is very clear that amendment may not be substituted for construction, and that a court may not exercise legislative functions to save the law from conflict with constitutional

The statutory rule, formulated after long experience, not merely compels restitution of profit and reparation for injury but also is designed to discourage wrongful conduct. The di

[T]he maximum and minimum provisions were intended to be applicable alike to all types of infringement except those for which the section makes other specific provision... the amou

In our opinion, the statute, as to the time of taking the bond and granting a clearance, is merely directory to the collector. It is undoubtedly his duty to comply with the literal

Where a duty is imposed for the protection of persons in particular situations or relations a breach of it which happens to result in injury to one in an altogether different situa

We are of opinion that the question rests altogether on the wording of the act of Congress: by which it is expressly declared that the forfeiture shall take place upon the commissi

Nor is the issuance of an injunction necessary to stop proceedings in separate or independent suits upon such claims. Power to grant an injunction exists under § 4285, Revised Stat

A thing within the intention of the makers of the statute is as much within the statute as if it were within the letter

The provisions of the bankruptcy act, preventing an insolvent from giving or the creditor from securing preferences for preexisting debts, apply not only to mortgages and transfers

the words of § 5151 do not mean that the stockholder promises the creditor as surety for the debts of the corporation, but merely imposes a liability on him as secondary to those d

The statutory maintenance is thus assimilated to alimony, in that it is subject to be modified from time to time or even cut off entirely, in the event of a change in the circumsta

Liens of this kind were unknown in the common law and equity jurisprudence both of England and of this country. They were clearly defined and regulated in the civil law. Where they

It must be remembered that the purpose of this legislation is not primarily to enforce the collection of debts, but to compel the performance of duties which the carrier assumes wh

State legislation declaring that proof of one fact or a group of facts shall constitute prima facie evidence of the main or ultimate fact in issue is valid if there is a rational c

Statutory reasonableness is an abstract quality represented by an area rather than a pinpoint. It allows a substantial spread between what is unreasonable because too low and what

When a cause of action has been created by a statute which expressly provides the remedies for vindication of the cause, other remedies should not readily be implied.

A general liability created by statute, without a remedy, may be enforced by an appropriate common-law action; but where the provision for the liability is coupled with a provision

As a general rule for the interpretation of statutes, it may be laid down, that they never should be allowed a retroactive operation where this is not required by express command o

The courts will not infer that Congress, in revising and consolidating the laws, intended to change their policy, in the absence of a clear expression of such purpose.

The opportunity having been conferred by the Naturalization Act, there is a statutory right in the alien to submit his petition and evidence to a court, to have that tribunal pass

His title is not the consequence of a decree of a court whereby a corporation still in being has made a compulsory assignment of its assets with a view to liquidation. His title is

The Act passed on the 29th of January, 1777, (2 State Laws 7.) declares that a tender shall amount to an actual payment and discharge; which is far more extensive than a tender at

Congress must be understood to use the word in its known commercial sense. The object of the duty laws is to raise revenue, and for this purpose to class substances according to th

the statutory workweek includes all time during which an employee is necessarily required to be on the employer's premises, on duty or at a prescribed workplace

A stay is not a matter of right, even if irreparable injury might otherwise result to the appellant. It is an exercise of judicial discretion. The propriety of its issue is depende

The suppliant for a stay must make out a clear case of hardship or inequity in being required to go forward, if there is even a fair possibility that the stay for which he prays wi

A stay is not a matter of right, even if irreparable injury might otherwise result to the appellant. It is an exercise of judicial discretion. The propriety of its issue is depende

To steal means to take away from one in lawful possession without right with the intention to keep wrongfully.

such debts as constitute a lien or privilege on the steamboat for necessary supplies, materials, repairs, and wages; that they do not include debts which cannot be enforced against

When a steamer is about to enter a harbor, great caution is required. There being no usage as to an open way, the vigilance is thrown upon the entering vessel. Ordinary care, under

The rule of this court is, when a steamer approaches a sailing vessel, the steamer is required to exercise the necessary precaution to avoid a collision; and if this be not done, p

The libellant was injured on a ship, lying in navigable waters, and while he was engaged in the performance of a maritime service. We entertain no doubt that the service in loading

A stevedore who in person or by servants does work so indispensable is as much an agency of commerce as shipowner or master. The business of loading and unloading being interstate

It appears to the court that the acceptance of any part of the sum due in Amsterdam on a subsequent day, is a waiver of the claim to damages in Philadelphia on the sum so accepted,

All writers upon commercial law use the word stipulation to denote a particular engagement, which may be insisted upon, before it can control the general operation of law, or vary

Obligation of a stipulator is the same as that of a surety, and consequently his liability is limited by the terms of his contract.

Stock is a term of the most general import: In its present extended application, it would include a great variety of subjects that never could have entered into contemplation of th

This is a notification to all persons interested to know, that whoever in good faith buys the stock, and produces to the corporation the certificates, regularly assigned, with powe

The immediate object of sale was the certificate of stock present in New York. That document was more than evidence, it was a constituent of title.

Stock certificates of all kinds have been constructed in a way to invite the confidence of business men, so that they have become the basis of commercial transactions in all the la

A stock dividend really takes nothing from the property of the corporation, and adds nothing to the interests of the shareholders. Its property is not diminished, and their interes

the court in its discretion will permit a stockholder to become a party defendant, for the purpose of protecting his own interests against unfounded or illegal claims against the c

Whether or not a corporation shall seek to enforce in the courts a cause of action for damages is, like other business questions, ordinarily a matter of internal management, and is

to accord 'the creditor his full right of priority against the corporate assets' where the debtor is insolvent, the stockholder's participation must be based on a contribution in m

The representation which a stockholder has by virtue of his membership in the corporation is all that he is entitled to.

a stockholder who brings suit on a cause of action derived from the corporation assumes a position, not technically as a trustee perhaps, but one of a fiduciary character. He sues,

one of the remedies which equity designed for those situations where the management through fraud, neglect of duty or other cause declines to take the proper and necessary steps to

The provision is self-executing, and under it each stockholder becomes liable for the debts of the corporation in an amount measured by the par value of his stock. This liability i

The liability of the stockholder, measured by the par value of his stock, is not to the corporation, but to the creditors collectively; is not penal, but contractual; is not joint,

The tendency of the discussions and judgments of the court of chancery in Great Britain, and of the courts of this country, is to concede the existence of a distinct and positive r

The refusal of the board of directors is essential in order to give to the stockholder any standing in court, as the charter confers upon the directors representing the body of sto

rights to acquire stock or securities." 4 S. Rep.

Nor do we think it can make any difference that instead of resorting to a holding company, as was done in the Northern Securities Case, the controlling interest in the stock of one

When any person takes stock in a railroad corporation, he has entered into a contract with the company, that his interests shall be subject to the direction and control of the prop

services or facilities furnished at a stockyard in connection with the receiving, buying or selling on a commission basis or otherwise, marketing, feeding, watering, holding, deliv

Stolen' as used in 18 U.S.C. § 2312 includes all felonious takings of motor vehicles with intent to deprive the owner of the rights and benefits of ownership, regardless of whether

The shipper, having delivered them to the master, was functus officio, and could not thereafter stop the goods on any ground but the insolvency of the consignee, which is the only

where a railroad company has already provided ample facilities for the adequate accommodation of the traveling public, such as may be proper and reasonable at any given point, and

the containment of hazardous waste, either on a temporary basis or for a period of years, in such a manner as not to constitute disposal of such hazardous waste.

The term 'storage water' as applied to releases from reservoirs owned and operated by the United States is defined as any water which is released from reservoirs for use on lands u

storm water runoff, snow melt runoff, and surface runoff and drainage.

By this method the annual depreciation charge is obtained by dividing the estimated service value by the number of years of estimated service life. The method is designed to spread

A 'strategic value' might be realized by a price fixed by the necessities of one person buying from another, free to sell or refuse, as the price suited. But in a condemnation proc

a corporation aggregate, composed of citizens of one state, might sue a citizen of another state in the Circuit Courts of the United States; that is, they in effect decided, that a

there was 'no break in the stream of events'... For he was then still in pain, under the influence of drugs, and at the complete mercy of the prison hospital authorities.

The right which is acquired under an ordinance granting the right to a water company to lay and maintain its pipes in the streets is a substantial property right. It has all of the

Such a street franchise has been called by various names,—an incorporeal hereditament, an interest in land, an easement, a right of way, but, howsoever designated, it is property.

An ordinance conferring a street franchise, passed by a municipality under legislative authority, created a valid contract, binding and enforceable according to its terms.

the streets are natural and proper places for the dissemination of information and opinion; and one is not to have the exercise of his liberty of expression in appropriate places a

all persons engaged in selling in or upon the streets, alleys or vacant grounds within the City, and goods, wares, merchandise or articles, including photographs, and also includes

The rule of law, that a plaintiff must recover by the strength of his own title, and not the weakness of his adversary's, must be limited and explained by the nature of each case a

The canon in favor of strict construction is not an inexorable command to override common sense and evident statutory purpose. It does not require magnified emphasis upon a single

neither privileges, powers, nor authorities, can pass by an act of incorporation, unless they be given in unambiguous words, and that an act giving special privileges must be const

to these provisions must be applied the same strict rule of construction that is applied to statutes defining criminal action. In other words, the Administrator's provisions must b

A criminal statute is to be construed strictly, not loosely. The rule that penal laws are to be construed strictly is founded on the tenderness of the law for the rights of individ

Although not penal in character, deportation statutes as a practical matter may inflict 'the equivalent of banishment or exile', and should be strictly construed.

This is a penal act, and is to be construed strictly, that is, with no intendment or extension beyond the import of the words used.

Statutes said to restrict the power of government by the creation of private rights are, like other public grants, to be strictly construed for the protection of the public interes

although, in a common case, on a mere question of property (as in the case of a Will) the rule of construction is according to the sense of the instrument; yet, a law constituting

In expounding a penal statute the Court certainly will not extend it beyond the plain meaning of its words; for it has been long and well settled, that such statutes must be constr

The rule that penal statutes are to be strictly construed in favor of persons accused is not violated by allowing the language to have its full meaning where that construction is i

such grants should be in plain language, that they should be certain and definite in their nature, and should contain no ambiguity in their terms. The legislative mind must be dist

the grant of privileges and exemptions to a corporation are to be strictly construed against the corporators, and in favor of the public; that nothing passes but what has been gran

sureties are never held responsible beyond the clear and absolute terms and meaning of their undertakings. Presumptions or equities are never allowed to enlarge or in any degree to

referring only to that over which the contract gives management complete control and unfettered discretion

the same strictness of proof is not necessary to charge the guarantees, as would have been necessary to support an action upon the bill itself, where, by the law merchant, a demand

something different—something less strict —when applied to benign racial classifications.

The term 'strike' includes any strike or other concerted stoppage of work by employees (including a stoppage by reason of the expiration of a collective-bargaining agreement) and a

the courts should hesitate to fix upon the injunctive remedy for breaches of duty owing under the labor laws unless that remedy alone can effectively guard the plaintiff's right.

strike suits' by people who might be interested in getting quick dollars by making charges without regard to their truth so as to coerce corporate managers to settle worthless clai

follows: "(1) General Rule.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), the term 'stripper well natural gas' means natural gas determined .

[t]he way in which parts are arranged or put together to form a whole" *946 and "[t]he interrelation or arrangement of parts in a complex entity." American Heritage Dictionary 1718

any purchase order or agreement to perform all or any part of the work, or to make or furnish any article, required for the performance of another contract or subcontract.

laborers and materialmen.

The purpose, therefore, of the insertion in section 6 of the phrase 'of such other foreign government of which at the time such Chinese person shall be a subject' was to require Ch

any invention of the contractor conceived or first actually reduced to practice in the performance of work under a funding agreement." § 201(e).

the courts' statutory or constitutional "power "to adjudicate the case" (emphasis in original)); "Landgrafv.