Terms Used In Texas Insurance Code > Title 5 > Subtitle C - Deceptive, Unfair, and Prohibited Practices

• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Case law: The law as laid down in cases that have been decided in the decisions of the courts.
• Chambers: A judge's office.
• Charity: An agency, institution, or organization in existence and operating for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons and conducted for educational, religious, scientific, medical, or other beneficent purposes.
• Committee membership: Legislators are assigned to specific committees by their party. Seniority, regional balance, and political philosophy are the most prominent factors in the committee assignment process.
• Concurrent resolution: A legislative measure, designated "S. Con. Res." and numbered consecutively upon introduction, generally employed to address the sentiments of both chambers, to deal with issues or matters affecting both houses, such as a concurrent budget resolution, or to create a temporary joint committee. Concurrent resolutions are not submitted to the President/Governor and thus do not have the force of law.
• Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
• County election precinct: means an election precinct established under § 42. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• Credit report: A detailed report of an individual's credit history prepared by a credit bureau and used by a lender in determining a loan applicant's creditworthiness. ^{Source: OCC}
• Credit Score: A number, roughly between 300 and 800, that measures an individual's credit worthiness. The most well-known type of credit score is the FICO score. This score represents the answer from a mathematical formula that assigns numerical values to various pieces of information in your credit report. ^{Source: OCC}
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Election official: means :
  (A) a county clerk;
  (B) a permanent or temporary deputy county clerk;
  (C) an elections administrator;
  (D) a permanent or temporary employee of an elections administrator;
  (E) an election judge;
  (F) an alternate election judge;
  (G) an early voting clerk;
  (H) a deputy early voting clerk;
  (I) an election clerk;
  (J) the presiding judge of an early voting ballot board;
  (K) the alternate presiding judge of an early voting ballot board;
  (L) a member of an early voting ballot board;
  (M) the chair of a signature verification committee;
  (N) the vice chair of a signature verification committee;
  (O) a member of a signature verification committee;
  (P) the presiding judge of a central counting station;
  (Q) the alternate presiding judge of a central counting station;
  (R) a central counting station manager;
  (S) a central counting station clerk;
  (T) a tabulation supervisor;
  (U) an assistant to a tabulation supervisor; and
  (V) a chair of a county political party holding a primary election or a runoff primary election. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• Fair Credit Reporting Act: A federal law, established in 1971 and revised in 1997, that gives consumers the right to see their credit records and correct any mistakes. ^{Source: OCC}
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: A government corporation that insures the deposits of all national and state banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
• Finance charge: The total cost of credit a customer must pay on a consumer loan, including interest. The Truth in Lending Act requires disclosure of the finance charge. ^{Source: OCC}
• General election: means an election, other than a primary election, that regularly recurs at fixed dates. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• General election for state and county officers: means the general election at which officers of the federal, state, and county governments are elected. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• Gubernatorial general election: means the general election held every four years to elect a governor for a full term. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• Irrevocable trust: A trust arrangement that cannot be revoked, rescinded, or repealed by the grantor.
• Juror: A person who is on the jury.
• Law: means a constitution, statute, city charter, or city ordinance. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
• Local canvass: means the canvass of the precinct election returns. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• Measure: means a question or proposal submitted in an election for an expression of the voters' will. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
• National Bank: A bank that is subject to the supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. A national bank can be recognized because it must have "national" or "national association" in its name. ^{Source: OCC}
• National Credit Union Administration: The federal regulatory agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. (NCUA also administers the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which insures the deposits of federal credit unions.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• Political subdivision: means a county, city, or school district or any other governmental entity that:
  (A) embraces a geographic area with a defined boundary;
  (B) exists for the purpose of discharging functions of government; and
  (C) possesses authority for subordinate self-government through officers selected by it. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• Primary election: means an election held by a political party under Chapter 172 to select its nominees for public office, and, unless the context indicates otherwise, the term includes a presidential primary election. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• Registered voter: means a person registered to vote in this state whose registration is effective. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Residence address: means the street address and any apartment number, or the address at which mail is received if the residence has no address, and the city, state, and zip code that correspond to a person's residence. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• Revolving credit: A credit agreement (typically a credit card) that allows a customer to borrow against a preapproved credit line when purchasing goods and services. The borrower is only billed for the amount that is actually borrowed plus any interest due. (Also called a charge account or open-end credit.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Special election: means an election that is not a general election or a primary election. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• Swear: includes affirm. See Texas Government Code 311.005
• Temporary restraining order: Prohibits a person from an action that is likely to cause irreparable harm. This differs from an injunction in that it may be granted immediately, without notice to the opposing party, and without a hearing. It is intended to last only until a hearing can be held.
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Uniform election date: means an election date prescribed by § 41. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.