Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 59.1 > Chapter 24 - Virginia Health Club Act

• Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• 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.
• Automated external defibrillator: means a device that combines a heart monitor and defibrillator and (i) has been approved by the U. See Virginia Code 59.1-296
• Board: means the Commonwealth Transportation Board. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Business day: means any day except a Sunday or a legal holiday. See Virginia Code 59.1-296
• Buyer: means a natural person who enters into a health club contract. See Virginia Code 59.1-296
• City: means an independent incorporated community which became a city as provided by law before noon on July 1, 1971, or which has within defined boundaries a population of 5,000 or more and which has become a city as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-208
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, or a member of his staff to whom he may delegate his duties under this chapter. See Virginia Code 59.1-296
• Commissioner of Highways: means the individual who serves as the chief executive officer of the Department of Transportation. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Comparable alternate facility: means a health club facility that is reasonably of like kind, in nature and quality, to the health club facility originally contracted, whether such facility is in the same location but owned or operated by a different health club or is at another location of the same health club. See Virginia Code 59.1-296
• 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.
• Contract price: means the sum of the initiation fee, if any, and all monthly fees except interest required by the health club contract. See Virginia Code 59.1-296
• 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.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Department: means the Department of Transportation. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• 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}
• 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.
• Facility: means a location where health club services are offered as designated in a health club contract. See Virginia Code 59.1-296
• 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.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Health club: means any person, firm, corporation, organization, club or association whose primary purpose is to engage in the sale of memberships in a program consisting primarily of physical exercise with exercise machines or devices, or whose primary purpose is to engage in the sale of the right or privilege to use exercise machines or devices. See Virginia Code 59.1-296
• Health club contract: means an agreement whereby the buyer of health club services purchases, or becomes obligated to purchase, health club services. See Virginia Code 59.1-296
• Health club services: means and includes services, privileges, or rights offered for sale or provided by a health club. See Virginia Code 59.1-296
• Highway: means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way or place open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• highway construction: means highway, passenger and freight rail, or public transportation purposes. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• in writing: include any representation of words, letters, symbols, numbers, or figures, whether (i) printed or inscribed on a tangible medium or (ii) stored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in a perceivable form and whether an electronic signature authorized by Virginia Code 1-257
• Includes: means includes, but not limited to. See Virginia Code 1-218
• inhabitants: means with reference to any county, city, town, political subdivision of the Commonwealth or any combination thereof, the natural persons in such county, city, town, political subdivision or combination as shown by the unadjusted United States decennial census last preceding the time at which any provision dependent upon population is being applied or the time as of which it is being construed. See Virginia Code 1-235
• Initiation fee: means a nonrecurring fee charged at or near the beginning of a health club membership, and includes all fees or charges not part of the monthly fee. See Virginia Code 59.1-296
• Interstate highway: means any highway in or component of the Interstate System. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Interstate System: means the same as that term is defined in Virginia Code 33.2-100
• 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.
• 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}
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Locality: has the meaning assigned to it in § 1-221. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Maintenance: means (i) ordinary maintenance; (ii) maintenance replacement; (iii) operations that include traffic signal synchronization, incident management, and other intelligent transportation system functions; and (iv) any other categories of maintenance that may be designated by the Commissioner of Highways. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Month: means a calendar month and "year" means a calendar year. See Virginia Code 1-223
• Monthly fee: means the total consideration, including but not limited to, equipment or locker rental, credit check, finance, medical and dietary evaluation, class and training fees, and all other similar fees or charges and interest, but excluding any initiation fee, to be paid by a buyer, divided by the total number of months of health club service use allowed by the buyer's contract, including months or time periods called "free" or "bonus" months or time periods and such months or time periods that are described in any other terms suggesting that they are provided free of charge, which months or time periods are given or contemplated when the contract is initially executed. See Virginia Code 59.1-296
• 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.
• Out of business: means the status of a facility that is permanently closed and for which there is no comparable alternate facility. See Virginia Code 59.1-296
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Prepayment: means payment of any consideration for services or the use of facilities made prior to the day on which the services or facilities of the health club are fully open and available for regular use by the members. See Virginia Code 59.1-296
• Primary highway: means any highway in or component of the primary state highway system. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
• real estate: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights and appurtenances thereto and interests therein, other than a chattel interest. See Virginia Code 1-219
• Relocation: means the provision of health club services by the health club that entered into the membership contract at a location other than that designated in the member's contract. See Virginia Code 59.1-296
• Roadway: means that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Secondary state highway system: consists of all public highways, causeways, bridges, landings, and wharves in the counties of the Commonwealth not included in the primary state highway system and that have been accepted by the Department of Transportation for supervision and maintenance. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• State: includes District of Columbia;

  (f) "Transit facilities" means all real and personal property located in the Zone, necessary or useful in rendering transit service between points within the Zone, by means of rail, bus, water or air and any other mode of travel, including, without limitation, tracks, rights-of-way, bridges, tunnels, subways, rolling stock for rail, motor vehicle, marine and air transportation, stations, terminals and ports, areas for parking and all equipment, fixtures, buildings and structures and services incidental to or required in connection with the performance of transit service;

  (g) "Transit services" means the transportation of persons and their packages and baggage by means of transit facilities between points within the Zone including the transportation of newspapers, express and mail between such points, and charter service which originates within the Zone but does not include taxicab service or individual-ticket-sales sightseeing operations;

  (h) "Transit Zone" or "Zone" means the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Zone created and described in Section 3 as well as any additional area that may be added pursuant to Section 83(a) of this Compact; and

  (i) "WMATC" means Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission. See Virginia Code 33.2-3100

• State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• sworn: means "affirm" or "affirmed. See Virginia Code 1-250
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Town: means any existing town or an incorporated community within one or more counties which became a town before noon, July 1, 1971, as provided by law or which has within defined boundaries a population of 1,000 or more and which has become a town as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-254
• United States: includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-255