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Terms Used In Maryland Code, COMMERCIAL LAW 17-101

  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • County: means a county of the State or Baltimore City. See
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • including: means includes or including by way of illustration and not by way of limitation. See
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Person: includes an individual, receiver, trustee, guardian, personal representative, fiduciary, representative of any kind, corporation, partnership, business trust, statutory trust, limited liability company, firm, association, or other nongovernmental entity. See
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • state: means :

    (1) a state, possession, territory, or commonwealth of the United States; or

    (2) the District of Columbia. See
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
(a) In this title the following words have the meanings indicated.

(b) (1) “Abandoned property” means personal property that is considered abandoned under this title.

(2) “Abandoned property” includes property in the custody of the federal government that is classified as “unclaimed property” under federal law.

(c) “Administrator” means the State Comptroller.

(d) “Banking organization” means any bank, trust company, savings bank, land bank, and any other similar organization engaged in business in the State.

(e) “Business association” means any corporation, joint stock company, business trust, statutory trust, partnership, or any association for business purposes of two or more individuals.

(f) “County” includes Baltimore City.

(g) “Federal government” includes any of its agencies or instrumentalities.

(h) “Financial organization” means any savings and loan association or credit union engaged in business in the State.

(i) “Holder” means any person who is:

(1) In possession of property subject to this title belonging to another;

(2) A trustee, in the case of a trust; or

(3) Indebted to another on an obligation subject to this title.

(j) “Insurance corporation” means any association or corporation transacting in the State the business of insurance on the lives of persons or insurance pertaining to life insurance, including endowments and annuities, disability, accident and health insurance, and property, casualty, and surety insurance, as these terms are defined in the Insurance Article.

(k) “Owner” means:

(1) In the case of a deposit, a depositor or a person entitled to receive the funds as reflected on the records of the bank or financial organization;

(2) In the case of a trust, a beneficiary;

(3) In the case of other choses in action, a creditor, claimant, or payee;

(4) In the case of abandoned property in federal custody, the person who is defined as the owner by any applicable federal law; or

(5) Any person who has a legal or equitable interest in property subject to this title, or the legal representative of that person.

(l) “Person” includes the State, any county, municipal corporation, or other political subdivision of the State, or any of their units, an individual, business association, corporation, business trust, statutory trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, two or more persons having a joint or common interest, or any other legal or commercial entity.

(m) “Personal property” does not include:

(1) A gift certificate;

(2) Credits in connection with the sale of consumer goods to a wholesaler or retailer in the ordinary course of business;

(3) Outstanding checks or credits issued to vendors or commercial customers in the ordinary course of business, other than property described in § 17-301(a) of this title held by a banking organization or financial organization;

(4) Credit balances in vendor or commercial customer accounts that occur in the ordinary course of business, other than property described in § 17-301(a) of this title held by a banking organization or financial organization; or

(5) Purchase price rebates issued to customers in the ordinary course of business.

(n) “Service charge” means any type of deduction or charge made by a holder on property presumed abandoned under this title.

(o) “Utility” means any person who owns or operates in the State, for public use, any plant, equipment, property, franchise, or license for the transmission of communications, for the production, storage, transmission, sale, delivery, or furnishing of electricity, water, steam, or gas, or for the transportation of persons or property.