Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws > Chapter 5-61 - Telephone Sales Solicitation Act

• Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
• Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Commercial agricultural producers: means purveyors of at least two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) of agricultural products during a calendar year. See Rhode Island General Laws 46-15.3-4
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• 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.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Department: means the department of attorney general. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-61-2
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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}
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• fund: means the water quality protection funds as described in Rhode Island General Laws 46-15.3-4
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Hours of operation: means Monday through Friday, except a state or federal holiday, nine o'clock (9:00 a. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-61-2
• in writing: include printing, engraving, lithographing, and photo-lithographing, and all other representations of words in letters of the usual form. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-16
• Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Item: means any goods and services and includes coupon books that are to be used with businesses other than the seller's business. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-61-2
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Leakage: means the difference between non-billed water and the total of the estimated or measured allowances for fire fighting, meter inaccuracy, theft, system usage, main flushing, sewer cleaning, storm drain cleaning, and other allowances that may be developed by the water resources board. See Rhode Island General Laws 46-15.3-4
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
• Non-billed water: means the difference between water produced by a supplier and water sold by the same supplier. See Rhode Island General Laws 46-15.3-4
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• oath: includes affirmation; the word "sworn" includes affirmed; and the word "engaged" includes either sworn or affirmed. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-11
• 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.
• Owner: means a person who owns or controls ten percent (10%) or more of the equity of, or otherwise has claim to ten percent (10%) or more of the net income of, a telephonic seller. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-61-2
• 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: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
• Person: includes an individual, firm, association, corporation, partnership, joint venture, or any other business entity. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-61-2
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• 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.
• Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
• Principal: means an owner; an executive officer of a corporation; a general partner of a partnership; a sole proprietor of a sole proprietorship; a trustee of a trust; or any other individual with similar supervisory functions with respect to any person. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-61-2
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• prospective purchaser: means a person who is solicited to become, or does become, obligated to a telephonic seller. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-61-2
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Raw water: means water in its natural state prior to any treatment. See Rhode Island General Laws 46-15.3-4
• real estate: may be construed to include lands, tenements, and hereditaments and rights thereto and interests therein. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-10
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Sale: means all retail sales of potable water to end users for any purpose in the ordinary course of business by a supplier, except for sales exempt pursuant to Rhode Island General Laws 46-15.3-4
• Salesperson: means any individual employed, appointed, or authorized by a telephonic seller, whether referred to by the telephonic seller as an agent, representative, or independent contractor, who attempts to solicit or solicits a sale on behalf of the telephonic seller. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-61-2
• seal: shall be construed to include an impression of the seal made with or without the use of wax or wafer on the paper. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-15
• seller: means a person who, on his or her own behalf or through salespersons or through the use of an automatic-dialing-announcing device, causes a telephone solicitation, or attempted telephone solicitation, to occur that meets the criteria specified as follows:

  (i)  A telephone solicitation, or attempted telephone solicitation, where the telephonic seller initiates or engages in telephonic contact with a prospective purchaser and represents or implies one or more of the following:

  (A)  That a prospective purchaser who buys one or more items will also receive additional or other items, whether or not of the same type as purchased, without "further cost. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-61-2

• Source: means the raw water upon which a public water supply system abounds, and refers to both groundwater and surface water. See Rhode Island General Laws 46-15.3-4
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• supervised financial institution: means any commercial bank, trust company, savings and loan association, credit union, industrial loan company, personal property broker, consumer finance lender, commercial finance lender, or insurer; provided, that the institution is subject to supervision by an official or agency of this state or of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-61-2
• telephone solicitation: means the engagement of a telephone conversation for the purpose of encouraging a person to purchase personal property, investment opportunities, goods or services, or for the purpose of gathering information for sales solicitation. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-61-1
• 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.
• town: may be construed to include city; the words "town council" include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9
• town council: include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. ^{Source: OCC}
• United States: include the several states and the territories of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-8
• Watersheds: means those land areas which, because of their topography, soil type, and drainage patterns, act as collectors of raw waters which replenish or regorge existing or planned public drinking water supplies. See Rhode Island General Laws 46-15.3-4