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Legal Dictionary M - R

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Material Evidence:
Testimony, documents, and physical proof relevant to the issues in a case.

Mediation:
A form of dispute resolution that does not require a formal court trial. In mediation, the parties bring their dispute to a neutral third party to reach a settlement.

Medical Malpractice:
A form of negligence where an injury results from a medical professional’s or medical facility’s failure to exercise adequate care, skill or diligence in performing a duty.

Mental Anguish:
Emotional suffering that may be considered in awarding damages.

Mesothelioma:
A type of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.

Motion:
A formal request of a court or judge.

Motion in Limine:
A party’s request that allegedly prejudicial information be disallowed in a case.

Negligence:
Failure to use reasonable due care to avoid a foreseeable harm to a person, place, or thing.

No-fault Proceedings:
A civil case in which parties may resolve their dispute without a formal finding of error or fault.

Nonfeasance:
Failure to perform an act which should be performed.

Non-jury Trial:
Proceedings before a judge without a jury.

Notary Public:
One who assumes the function of administering oaths and certifying documents.

Notice:
Formal caution to a defendant in a civil case that the lawsuit has been filed; any form of notification of a legal proceeding.

Oath:
In a trial, a solemn pledge made in attestation of the truth of a statement or in verification of a statement made.

Objection:
The process of taking exception to a statement or procedure

Occupational Disease:
Work-related illness; ailment arising from workplace conditions.

Opening Statement:
An attorney’s initial statement at trial outlining their intended arguments.

Opinion:
A judge's written explanation of his or her decision or the decision of the court as determined by a majority of judges. A dissenting opinion may be written when one judge on a court disagrees with the majority opinion. A concurring opinion agrees with the decision of the court but offers further comment.

Order:
A court’s or a judge’s express mandate regarding a legal matter.

Personal Injury:
An injury to a person or a person’s reputation.

Personal Property:
An individual’s property other than real estate.

Petitioner:
The person filing an action or an appeal.

Plaintiff:
The party who formally initiates a lawsuit.

Pleadings:
The documents drafted by the parties to a lawsuit and filed with the court.

Power of Attorney:
A formal instrument authorizing another to act as one's agent.

Process Server:
A person certified to deliver paperwork in a lawsuit.

Products Liability:
The liability arising from the design, manufacture, and marketing of a product for damages caused by the product.

Quantum Meruit:
A Latin expression meaning, “as much as he deserves.”

Quid Pro Quo:
A Latin expression meaning “something for something,” or the exchange of one item of value for another.

Quasi-contract:
A legal obligation imposed in the absence of an express agreement or contract.

Real property:
Real estate, land, buildings, and items attached to land.

Reasonable person:
A hypothetical individual who exercises an ordinary degree of reason, prudence, care, foresight, or intelligence whose conduct, conclusion, or expectation in relation to a particular circumstance or fact is used as an objective standard.

Recovery:
The amount of compensation paid as a result of a lawsuit or insurance settlement.

Respondeat superior:
A Latin expression meaning “a superior must answer” that provides that employers are responsible for the acts and omissions of their employees and agents when those acts or omissions occur within the scope of the employees’ duties.

Respondent:
The person against whom an appeal is taken.

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