Federal Common Law - Law Dictionary Search Results
federal common law
federal common law : case law developed in the federal courts see also Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins in the Important Cases section NOTE: Federal common law is applied primarily in admiralty and maritime cases, disputes between states, matters of international relations, and in cases regarding the proprietary interests of the U.S. Federal common law is used when federal statutory law does not completely address an issue or problem. ...
trademark
trademark : a mark that is used by a manufacturer or merchant to identify the origin or ownership of goods and to distinguish them from others and the use of which is protected by law see also dilution, infringement, strong mark, weak mark Trademark Act of 1946 in the Important Laws section compare copyright, patent, service mark NOTE: The Patent and Trademark Office registers trademarks and service marks that are used in interstate commerce or in intrastate commerce that affects interstate commerce. There are also state registration statutes for marks used in intrastate commerce. A trademark or service mark need not be registered for an owner to enforce his or her rights in court. The common law recognizes ownership of a trademark, established by actual and first use of the mark, but it extends only to the areas or markets where the mark is used. Federal registration of a trademark gives rise to a federal cause of action for infringement in addition to the common-law claim. Regist...
plea
plea [Anglo-French plei plai legal action, trial, from Old French plait plaid, from Medieval Latin placitum, from Latin, decision, decree, from neuter of placitus, past participle of placēre to please, be decided] 1 a : an allegation of fact in civil litigation made in response to a claim compare demurrer b : a defendant's answer to a plaintiff's claim in civil litigation NOTE: Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and in states where they have been adopted, civil pleas are abolished, and answers and motions are used instead. Such pleas were used at common law. dil·a·to·ry plea [di-lə-tōr-ē-] : a common-law plea which is intended to defeat the pending action or proceeding without involving any decision on the merits of the case plea in abatement : a plea entered by a party seeking postponement or dismissal of an action by setting forth some matter or defect regarding procedure, jurisdiction, or timing called also plea of abatement plea ...
try
try tried try·ing [Anglo-French trier to choose, sort, ascertain, examine judicially, from Old French, to choose, sort] 1 : to examine or investigate judicially [no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law "U.S. Constitution amend. VII"] [in all actions tried upon the facts without a jury "Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 52(a)"] 2 : to conduct the trial of : put on trial [if…the judge before whom the defendant has been tried is unable to perform the duties to be performed by the court after a verdict or finding of guilt "Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 25(b)"] 3 : to participate as lawyer or counsel in the trial of : bring to trial on behalf of a client [was unqualified to death penalty cases] ...
form of action
form of action :any of the personal actions (as assumpsit, detinue, or replevin) formerly brought at common law see also writ NOTE: Rule 2 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure states “there shall be one form of action to be known as ‘civil action.’ ” ...
override
override -rode [-rōd] -rid·den [-rid-n] -rid·ing 1 : to prevail or take precedence over [if, as is often the case, federal constitutional principles state statutory or common law "H. P. Wilkins"] 2 : to set aside by virtue of superior authority [overrode the jury's sentencing recommendation] ;esp : annul [ a veto with the required majority] [ō-vər-rīd] n 1 : a commission paid to managerial personnel on sales made by subordinates called also override commission 2 : royalty 3 : an act or instance of overriding [a legislative ] ...
override
override -rode [-rōd] -rid·den [-rid-n] -rid·ing 1 : to prevail or take precedence over [if, as is often the case, federal constitutional principles state statutory or common law "H. P. Wilkins"] 2 : to set aside by virtue of superior authority [overrode the jury's sentencing recommendation] ;esp : annul [ a veto with the required majority] [ō-vər-rīd] n 1 : a commission paid to managerial personnel on sales made by subordinates called also override commission 2 : royalty 3 : an act or instance of overriding [a legislative ] ...
res gestae
res gestae [Latin, things done, deeds] 1 : the acts, facts, circumstances, statements, or occurrences that form the environment of a main act or event and esp. of a crime and are so closely connected to it that they constitute part of a continuous transaction and can serve to illustrate its character [the decedent's statement…was too far removed in time and place to be admissible as part of the res gestae "Lynch v. State, 552 N.E.2d 56 (1990)"] 2 a : an exception or set of exceptions to the hearsay rule that permits the admission of hearsay evidence regarding excited utterances or declarations relating to mental, emotional, or bodily states or sense impressions of a witness or participant compare dying declaration and spontaneous declaration at declaration, excited utterance NOTE: Res gestae in common law encompassed a variety of different exceptions to the hearsay rule, but most modern rules of evidence (as the Federal Rules of Evidence) have abandoned use of res gestae and...
abstention
abstention : the staying of the exercise of federal jurisdiction in a case that involves a question of state law or policy which the federal court prefers to have resolved by a state court or agency Bur·ford abstention [bər-fərd-] : an abstention grounded on the involvement in the federal case of a challenge to the exercise of a usually complex state administrative function Col·o·ra·do Riv·er abstention [kÄ -lə-ra-dō-, -rÄ -] : an abstention grounded esp. on the involvement in the federal case of questions of state concern that are also at issue in a parallel case in state court Pull·man abstention [pl-mən-] : an abstention grounded on the involvement in the federal case of the interpretation of an ambiguously worded state law whose constitutionality would have to be determined by the federal court NOTE: A party to a case subjected to a Pullman abstention may reserve the right to return to federal court once the st...
class action
class action : an action in which a representative plaintiff sues or a representative defendant is sued on behalf of a class of plaintiffs or defendants who have the same interests in the litigation as their representative and whose rights or liabilities can be more efficiently determined as a group than in a series of individual suits called also class action suit class suit see also certification compare consolidate, joinder test case at case NOTE: Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure sets out the prerequisites for having an action certified as a class action in federal court. Section (a) permits a class action if “(1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable, (2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class, (3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class, and (4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class.” If th...
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