Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 4.1 > Subtitle II > Chapter 13 - Prohibited Practices; Procedural Matters

• Adult: means a person 18 years of age or more. See Virginia Code 1-203
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Agency: means the Department of State Police, the Division of Capitol Police, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, the Virginia Port Authority, the Department of Wildlife Resources, the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, the Department of Conservation and Recreation, or the Department of Motor Vehicles; or the political subdivision or the campus police department of any public institution of higher education of the Commonwealth employing the law-enforcement officer. See Virginia Code 9.1-500
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• 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.
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• 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.
• Appliance: means a permanent or removable device used in a plan of dental care, including crowns, fillings, bridges, braces, dentures, orthodontic aligners, and sleep apnea devices. See Virginia Code 54.1-2700
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• 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.
• 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}
• Beneficiary: means the spouse of a deceased person and such persons as are entitled to take under the will of a deceased person if testate, or as his heirs at law if intestate. See Virginia Code 9.1-400
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• Board: means the Board of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology. See Virginia Code 54.1-2600
• Board: means the Board of Dentistry. See Virginia Code 54.1-2700
• Board: means the Potato Board. See Virginia Code 3.2-1800
• Commission: means the State Corporation Commission. See Virginia Code 6.2-100
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Financial Institutions. See Virginia Code 6.2-100
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Consumer: means an individual residing in the Commonwealth who owes money to one or more creditors, for personal, family, or household purposes, including an individual who owes money jointly with one or more other individuals. See Virginia Code 6.2-2000
• Consumer: means an individual residing in the Commonwealth who owes money to one or more creditors, for personal, family, or household purposes, including an individual who owes money jointly with one or more other individuals. See Virginia Code 6.2-2026
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Creditor: includes persons that extend credit to, or persons that service loans made to, consumers. See Virginia Code 6.2-2026
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Debt collector: means a person defined as a debt collector under Virginia Code 6.2-2026
• Debt settlement services: means any action or negotiation initiated or taken on behalf of any consumer with any creditor of the consumer for the purpose of obtaining debt forgiveness of all or a portion of the credit extended by the creditor to the consumer or a reduction of payments, charges, or fees payable by the consumer. See Virginia Code 6.2-2026
• Deceased person: means any individual whose death occurs on or after April 8, 1972, in the line of duty as the direct or proximate result of the performance of his duty, including the presumptions under §§ Virginia Code 9.1-400
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Dental hygiene: means duties related to patient assessment and the rendering of educational, preventive, and therapeutic dental services specified in regulations of the Board and not otherwise restricted to the practice of dentistry. See Virginia Code 54.1-2700
• Dental hygienist: means a person who is licensed by the Board to practice dental hygiene. See Virginia Code 54.1-2700
• Dentist: means a person who has been awarded a degree in and is licensed by the Board to practice dentistry. See Virginia Code 54.1-2700
• Dentistry: means the evaluation, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment, through surgical, nonsurgical, or related procedures, of diseases, disorders, and conditions of the oral cavity and the maxillofacial, adjacent, and associated structures and their impact on the human body. See Virginia Code 54.1-2700
• Digital scan: means digital technology that creates a computer-generated replica of the hard and soft tissues of the oral cavity using enhanced digital photography. See Virginia Code 54.1-2700
• Digital scan technician: means a person who has completed a training program approved by the Board to take digital scans of intraoral and extraoral hard and soft tissues for use in teledentistry. See Virginia Code 54.1-2700
• Digital work order: means the digital equivalent of a written dental laboratory work order used in the construction or repair of an appliance. See Virginia Code 54.1-2700
• Disabled person: includes any state employee included in the definition of a deceased person who was disabled on or after January 1, 1966. See Virginia Code 9.1-400
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• DMP: means a program whereby a person agrees to engage in debt pooling and distribution services on behalf of a consumer, or multiple consumers if a joint account. See Virginia Code 6.2-2000
• Electronic signature: means an electronic signature as defined in § Virginia Code 6.2-2026
• Emergency medical services personnel: means any person who holds a valid certificate issued by the Commissioner and who is employed solely within the fire department, emergency medical services agency, or public safety department of an employing agency as a full-time emergency medical services personnel whose primary responsibility is the provision of emergency care to the sick and injured, using either basic or advanced techniques. See Virginia Code 9.1-300
• Employee: means any person who would be covered or whose spouse, dependents, or beneficiaries would be covered under the benefits of this chapter if the person became a disabled person or a deceased person. See Virginia Code 9.1-400
• Employer: means (i) the employer of a person who is a covered employee or (ii) in the case of a volunteer who is a member of any fire company or department or rescue squad described in the definition of "deceased person" the county, city, or town that by ordinance or resolution recognized such fire company or department or rescue squad as an integral part of the official safety program of such locality. See Virginia Code 9.1-400
• Employing agency: means any municipality of the Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof, including authorities and special districts, that employs firefighters and emergency medical services personnel. See Virginia Code 9.1-300
• Fair Debt Collection Practices Act: The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a set of United States statutes added as Title VIII of the Consumer Credit Protection Act. Its purpose is to ensure ethical practices in the collection of consumer debts and to provide consumers with an avenue for disputing and obtaining validation of debt information in order to ensure the information's accuracy. It is often used in conjunction with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. ^{Source: OCC}
• Firefighter: means any person who is employed solely within the fire department or public safety department of an employing agency as a full-time firefighter whose primary responsibility is the prevention and extinguishment of fires, the protection of life and property, and the enforcement of local and state fire prevention codes and laws pertaining to the prevention and control of fires. See Virginia Code 9.1-300
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Fund: means the Line of Duty Death and Health Benefits Trust Fund established pursuant to § Virginia Code 9.1-400
• Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
• 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.
• Handler: means any person who is a processor, dealer, shipper, or exporter who purchases potatoes from a grower, or who acts as the grower's agent, or any person who holds a produce dealer or commission merchant license from the Department. See Virginia Code 3.2-1800
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• Interrogation: means any questioning of a formal nature as used in Chapter 4 (§ Virginia Code 9.1-300
• Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
• Law-enforcement officer: means any person, other than a Chief of Police or the Superintendent of the Department of State Police, who, in his official capacity, is (i) authorized by law to make arrests and (ii) a nonprobationary officer of one of the following agencies:

  a. See Virginia Code 9.1-500

• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• License: means the document issued to an applicant upon completion of requirements for admission to practice dentistry or dental hygiene in the Commonwealth or upon registration for renewal of license to continue the practice of dentistry or dental hygiene in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 54.1-2700
• License to practice dentistry: means any license to practice dentistry issued by the Board. See Virginia Code 54.1-2700
• Licensee: means a person licensed under this chapter. See Virginia Code 6.2-2000
• Licensee: means a person licensed under this chapter. See Virginia Code 6.2-2026
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Line of duty: means any action the deceased or disabled person was obligated or authorized to perform by rule, regulation, condition of employment or service, or law. See Virginia Code 9.1-400
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Manufactured equine feed: means a commercial feed as defined by § Virginia Code 3.2-1712
• Manufacturer: means any person who manufactures equine feed and is licensed to conduct business in the Commonwealth under § Virginia Code 3.2-1712
• Marijuana: means any part of a plant of the genus Cannabis, whether growing or not, its seeds or resin; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds, its resin, or any extract containing one or more cannabinoids. See Virginia Code 4.1-600
• Maxillofacial: means pertaining to the jaws and face, particularly with reference to specialized surgery of this region. See Virginia Code 54.1-2700
• Month: means a calendar month and "year" means a calendar year. See Virginia Code 1-223
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
• Nonparticipating employer: means any employer that is a political subdivision of the Commonwealth that elected to directly fund the cost of benefits provided under this chapter and not participate in the Fund. See Virginia Code 9.1-400
• 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.
• Oral and maxillofacial surgeon: means a person who has successfully completed an oral and maxillofacial residency program, approved by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association, and who holds a valid license from the Board. See Virginia Code 54.1-2700
• Participating employer: means any employer that is a state agency or is a political subdivision of the Commonwealth that did not make an election to become a nonparticipating employer. See Virginia Code 9.1-400
• Person: shall include individuals, a trust, an estate, a partnership, an association, an order, a corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity;

  6. See Virginia Code 8.01-2

• Person: means any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or other legal or commercial entity. See Virginia Code 6.2-100
• Personal representative: includes the executor of a will or the administrator of the estate of a decedent, the administrator of such estate with the will annexed, the administrator of such estate unadministered by a former representative, whether there is a will or not, any person who is under the order of a circuit court to take into his possession the estate of a decedent for administration, and every other curator of a decedent's estate, for or against whom suits may be brought for causes of action that accrued to or against the decedent. See Virginia Code 1-234
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Potatoes: means all varieties of potatoes except sweet potatoes. See Virginia Code 3.2-1800
• Principal: means any person who, directly or indirectly, owns or controls (i) 10 percent or more of the outstanding stock of a stock corporation or (ii) a 10 percent or greater interest in a person. See Virginia Code 6.2-2000
• Principal: means any person that, directly or indirectly, owns or controls (i) 10 percent or more of the outstanding stock of a stock corporation or (ii) a 10 percent or greater interest in a person. See Virginia Code 6.2-2026
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Producer: means any person who, in a calendar year, grows a minimum of 40,000 pounds of potatoes in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 3.2-1800
• 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
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Remainderman: One entitled to the remainder of an estate after a particular reserved right or interest, such as a life tenancy, has expired.
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Seed potatoes: means potatoes and parts thereof intended for the propagation or production of commercial potatoes. See Virginia Code 3.2-1800
• Sheriff: shall include deputy sheriffs and such other persons designated in § Virginia Code 8.01-2
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Store-and-forward technologies: means the technologies that allow for the electronic transmission of dental and health information, including images, photographs, documents, and health histories, through a secure communication system. See Virginia Code 54.1-2700
• sworn: means "affirm" or "affirmed. See Virginia Code 1-250
• Teledentistry: means the delivery of dentistry between a patient and a dentist who holds a license to practice dentistry issued by the Board through the use of telehealth systems and electronic technologies or media, including interactive, two-way audio or video. See Virginia Code 54.1-2700
• Testate: To die leaving a will.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• 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.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• VRS: means the Virginia Retirement System. See Virginia Code 9.1-400
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.