Definitions from Case Law

Whether the corporation operates in the name and for the account of the principal, binds the principal, by its actions, transmits money received to the principal, and whether recei

True class actions were those in which the rights of the different class members were common and undivided; in such cases aggregation was permitted.

One is a true limitation agreement. It recites that a sum named in the bill of lading is the agreed value of the goods, or their value per unit or per package, in the absence of th

The liability to those who have incurred disability is not a fixed sum, but remains a contingency, still uncertain in duration and amount. Reserves held for such a contingent liabi

The true test lies in the power under which the court was created and in the jurisdiction conferred.

the statute initially requires the Government to prove a true 'threat.' We do not believe that the kind of political hyperbole indulged in by petitioner fits within that statutory

The other is a true valuation clause. It is to the effect that in event of loss or damage for which the carrier is liable, the same shall be computed on the basis of the value of t

the words 'true value,' in the eleventh section of the act of Congress of the 20th of April, 1818, do mean the actual cost thereof to the importer at the place from which the same

A trust is where there are rights, titles, and interests in property distinct from the legal ownership. In such cases, the legal title, in the eye of the law, carries with it, to t

any company whose powers are limited to the powers specified in subsection (a) of the first section of the Act entitled 'An Act to place authority over the trust powers of national

The duty of a trustee, whether of real or personal estate, to defend the title, at law or in equity, in case a suit is brought against it, is unquestioned, and the expenses are pro

It is a well-settled principle of equity, that wherever a trustee, or one standing in a fiduciary character, deals with the trust estate for his own personal profit, he shall accou

It is a well settled rule in equity, that all persons coming into possession of trust property, with notice of the trust, shall be considered as trustees, and bound, with respect t

the rights of creditors—whether they are existing or hypothetical—to which the trustee succeeds are to be ascertained as of 'the date of bankruptcy,' not at an anterior point of ti

In England, courts of equity adhere to the principle which has its origin in the Roman law, 'that a trustee shall not profit by his trust,' and therefore that a trustee shall have

It is then a clear case for relief; since the defendant Caldwell, uniting in himself the two characters of trustee and debtor to the trust fund, was guilty of a clear breach of tru

Dunn and Gillam, when they fraudulently acquired the Thomas lease by the corrupt action of the guardian, which action they actively induced, became trustees ex maleficio of the lea

The resemblance between the trustee for the estate of an insolvent debtor in the district of Columbia and the assignees of a bankrupt is admitted; yet a clear distinction exists be

Bankruptcy has the force and effect of the levy of an execution for the benefit of creditors to insure an equitable distribution amongst them of the bankrupt's assets. The trustee

A trustee in equity is regarded in the light of an instrument or agent for the cestui que trust, and the authority confided to him is in the nature of a power.

The law intended to class among such trustees others than those who, in equity, are regarded as technical trustees. It expressly declares that included among them shall be persons

It is a well-settled rule that a trustee can make no profit out of his trust. The rule in such cases springs from his duty to protect the interests of the estate, and not to permit

By the common law every trustee or receiver of an estate has the duty of exercising reasonable care in the custody of the fiduciary estate unless relieved of such duty by agreement

Trustees in bankruptcy are public officers and officers of a court, and the officers of a court, like public officers generally must show clear warrant of law before compensation w

A trustee, merely as such, is, in general, only suable in equity. But if he chooses to bind himself by a personal covenant, he is liable at law for a breach thereof in the same man

The distinction between trusts executed and executory is this:—a trust executed is where the party has given complete directions for settling his estate, with perfect limitations;

a constructive trust in the strict sense, a trust ex maleficio, which may be fastened upon a wrongdoer irrespective of intention

A testator cannot, by his will, withdraw from his creditors any property which the law subjects to their claims, but he may provide a particular fund for his debts, and if the cred

if the assets of a corporation are distributed among the stockholders before all its debts are paid, each stockholder is liable severally to creditors, to the extent of the amount

a certificate, called a trust patent, by the terms of which the government holds the land for a period of years in trust for the allottee with an agreement to convey at the end of

Trust property, thus held, is not the subject of seizure and sale under judgment and execution against the trustee, whether that trustee be a natural or an artificial person.

the court of claims [has] jurisdiction of 'all claims founded ... upon any contract, expressed or implied, with the government of the United States, or for damages, liquidated or u

Whenever the tug is under the charge of her own master and crew, and in the usual and ordinary course of her employment undertakes to transport another vessel, which for the time b

The statute had in mind the judicial process of ascertaining the heir and the completion of that process by court action whereby the land was 'turned over' to the ascertained heir.

a cause can be removed from a State court into this court under the 25th section of the Judiciary Act of 1789, whenever some one of the questions embraced in it was relied on by th

The amendment which 'prohibited' the 'transportation or importation' of intoxicating liquors into any state 'in violation of the laws thereof,' abrogated the right to import free,

on principle and authority, the laches and non-claim of the rightful owner of an equitable estate, for a period of twenty years... under no disability, and where there has been no

There is, in the light of the cases referred to, clearly a twilight zone in which the employees must have their rights determined case by case, and in which particular facts and ci

The Fourteenth Amendment is not directed solely against discrimination due to a 'two-class theory'—that is, based upon differences between 'white' and Negro.

the deputy collector may perform the duties of such collector: l.-When the collector is sick, or is temporarily unable to discharge the duties of the 'office, the provision is that

Both the courts below passed on the facts, and agreed in holding that appellant failed to establish by the evidence its right to the relief demanded, and the rule is well settled t

Although originating in the same wrongful act or neglect, the two claims are quite distinct, no part of either being embraced in the other. One begins where the other ends, and a r

One is for the wrong to the injured person, and is confined to his personal loss and suffering before he died, while the other is for the wrong to the beneficiaries, and is confine

In this country, every man sustains a two-fold political capacity; one in relation to the State, and another in relation to the United States. In relation to the State, he is subje

Due process requires that the court which assumes to determine the rights of parties shall have jurisdiction, . . . and that there shall be notice and opportunity for hearing given

This is a two-pronged prerequisite for the loss of eligibility for United States citizenship. The alien must be one who 'applies or has applied for exemption or discharge' from mil

upon repudiation of a contract by the seller of land, two courses were open to the purchaser: 'He might stand by the contract and seek to recover the land, or he could declare upon

that its merchant-related and shopper-related services should be combined into a single market.

the uncorroborated oath of one witness is not enough to establish the falsity of the testimony of the accused set forth in the indictment

Courts of equity cannot decree against such denials in the answer of the respondent, on the testimony of a single witness. Where the denial is distinct the rule is universal that t

Tying agreements serve hardly any purpose beyond the suppression of competition. The justification most often advanced in their defense—the protection of the good will of the manuf

Tying agreements by which the sale of one commodity is conditioned on the purchase of another have been repeatedly condemned under the antitrust laws, since they serve no purpose b

An agreement by a party to sell one product but only on the condition that the buyer also purchases a different (or tied) product, or at least agrees that he will not purchase that

[A] condition [that] is not in so many words against the use of the cards of a competitor, but is affirmative in form, that the lessee shall use only appellant's cards in the lease

prohibits all travel agents authorized to book passage for the member lines 'from selling passage tickets for any steamer not connected with the fleets of the member Lines.

Insurance policies are traditionally contracts uberrimae fidei and a failure by the insured to disclose conditions affecting the risk, of which he is aware, makes the contract void

Validity and infringement are ultimate facts on which depends the question of liability.

whether the court adopts an agreed statement of facts or itself finds the facts, the agreed statement or findings must be of the ultimate facts, and if they be merely a recital of

a conclusion of law or at least a determination of a mixed question of law and fact. It is to be distinguished from the findings of primary, evidentiary, or circumstantial facts. I

The issuing of bills as a currency by such a corporation without authority is not only contrary to positive law, but, being ultra vires, is an abuse of the public franchises which

no rights arise on an ultra vires contract, even though the contract has been performed; and that this conclusion cannot be circumvented by erecting an estoppel which would prevent

In the absence of a clear expression of legislative intention to the contrary, a conveyance of real estate to a corporation for a purpose not authorized by its charter is not void,

The submission under the rule of court did not contemplate the third referee to be a mere umpire in the case, upon a difference of opinion of the other two; but an original referee

The last phrase, since it is used as an alternative for the word 'insolvent,' obviously means something less than a condition of 'bankruptcy' or 'insolvency' as those words are emp

gas lost as a result of leakage, condensation, expansion, or contraction

requires unanimous action by conference members before the maximum rate of commissions payable to travel agents may be changed.

The vice of the statute as applied to receipts from interstate sales is that the tax includes in its measure, without apportionment, receipts derived from activities in interstate

a rule which would require as a predicate for introducing hearsay testimony either a showing of the declarant's unavailability or production at trial of the declarant.

a witness is not 'unavailable' for purposes of the foregoing exception to the confrontation requirement unless the prosecutorial authorities have made a good-faith effort to obtain

It must be such a loss as necessarily prevents the party from complying with the condition of the bond. It is not necessary that it should be an actual destruction of the property,

the process of "assist[ing] in giving birth," which suggests removing an intact unborn child from the womb, rather than pieces of a child.

as long as it remained wholly uncertain whether a contract or engagement would ever give rise to an actual duty or liability, and there was no means of removing the uncertainty by

The rule which precludes the recovery of uncertain damages applies to such as are not the certain result of the wrong, not to those damages which are definitely attributable to the

one's misconduct need not necessarily have been of such a nature as to be punishable as a crime or as to justify legal proceedings of any character. Any willful act concerning the

a holding that a statute is unconstitutional 'as applied' means that the section, by its own terms, infringed constitutional freedoms in the circumstances of the particular case—as

the right to continue the exercise of a privilege granted by the state cannot be made to depend upon the grantee's submission to a condition prescribed by the state which is hostil

The governing principle is that a claim of unconstitutionality will not be heard to excuse a voluntary, deliberate and calculated course of fraud and deceit. One who elects such a

a generally worded statute which is construed to punish conduct which cannot constitutionally be punished is unconstitutionally vague to the extent that it fails to give adequate w

a law forbidding or requiring conduct in terms so vague that men of common intelligence must necessarily guess at its meaning and differ as to its application violates due process

subject [or pursuant] to or by reason of the authority of.

subject [or pursuant] to' or 'by reason of the authority of ' "); cf. Black's Law Dictionary 1368 (5th ed. 1979) (defining "under" as "according to.

An obvious inadequacy of capital, measured by the nature and magnitude of the corporate undertaking, has frequently been an important factor in cases denying stockholders their def

Misuse of power, possessed by virtue of state law and made possible only because the wrongdoer is clothed with the authority of state law, is action taken 'under color of' state la

receipt of money from a private source for the performance of official duties, that ambiguously described crime assuredly need not, and for the reasons the Court discusses should n

If upon failure or insolvency, one creditor goes into a contract of general composition common to the others, at the same time having an underhand agreement with the debtor to rece

The legislature is not bound, in order to support the constitutional validity of its regulation, to extend it to all cases which it might possibly reach. Dealing with practical exi

The plaintiff's agreement embodying the release was under seal. Hence, it is binding even if without a consideration.

The undertaking of the drawer is, not that he will pay the bill, but that the drawee will accept and pay; and the liability of the drawer only attaches, when the drawee refuses to

no more than that the receiver shall be "subject" to the direction of the Comptroller.

amounts computed or estimated on the basis of recognized mortality tables and assumed rates of interest, set aside to mature or liquidate future claims arising from life, annuity,

A knowledge of the state of the world, of the allegiance of particular countries, of the risks and embarrassments affecting their commerce, of the course and incidents of the trade

As between the insured and the underwriter on the cargo of a ship, the latter is in no case responsible for the payment of freight, whether there be an abandonment or not. It is a

the premiums earned on insurance contracts during the taxable year less losses incurred and expenses incurred.

when he deals with the agent, without any disclosure of the fact of his agency, he may elect to treat the after-discovered principal as the person with whom he contracted

By most corporations the term 'undivided profits' is employed to describe profits which have neither been distributed as dividends nor carried to surplus account upon the closing o

a witness may be asked, on cross-examination, to write in the presence of the jury, for the purpose of testing his credibility; but as original evidence, as remarked in "King "v.

not all burdens upon commerce, but only undue or discriminatory ones, are forbidden

When intrastate revenues fall short of producing their fair proportionate share of required total revenues, they work an undue discrimination against interstate commerce, and the I

something very different from a burden that is merely more than de minimis, i. e., "very small or trifing." The ordinary meaning of "undue hardship" thus points toward a standard c

If these deeds were obtained by the exercise of undue influence over a man whose mind had ceased to be the safe guide of his actions, it is against conscience for him who has obtai