Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 16.1 > Chapter 6 > Article 5 - Small Claims Court.

• Alternative fuel: means a combustible gas, liquid or other energy source that can be used to generate power to operate a highway vehicle and that is neither a motor fuel nor electricity used to recharge an electric motor vehicle or a hybrid electric motor vehicle. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Aviation consumer: means any person who uses in excess of 100,000 gallons of aviation jet fuel in any fiscal year and is licensed pursuant to Article 2 (§ Virginia Code 58.1-2201
• Aviation jet fuel: means fuel designed for use in the operation of jet or turbo-prop aircraft, and sold or used for that purpose. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
• Bonded importer: means a person, other than a supplier, who imports, by transport truck or another means of transfer outside the terminal transfer system, motor fuel removed from a terminal located in another state in which (i) the state from which the fuel is imported does not require the seller of the fuel to collect motor fuel tax on the removal either at that state's rate or the rate of the destination state; (ii) the supplier of the fuel is not an elective supplier; or (iii) the supplier of the fuel is not a permissive supplier. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
• Bulk plant: means a motor fuel storage and distribution facility that is not a terminal and from which motor fuel may be removed at a rack. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
• Bulk user: means a person who maintains storage facilities for motor fuel and uses part or all of the stored fuel to operate a highway vehicle, watercraft, or aircraft. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• 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.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Destination state: means the state, territory, or foreign country to which motor fuel is directed for delivery into a storage facility, a receptacle, a container, or a type of transportation equipment for the purpose of resale or use. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
• Distributor: means a person who acquires motor fuel from a supplier or from another distributor for subsequent sale. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
• Elective supplier: means a supplier who (i) is required to be licensed in the Commonwealth and (ii) elects to collect the tax due the Commonwealth on motor fuel that is removed at a terminal located in another state and has Virginia as its destination state. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
• 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.
• 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.
• Fuel: includes motor fuel and alternative fuel. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
• Highway: means every way or place of whatever nature open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel in the Commonwealth, including the streets and alleys in towns and cities. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
• Importer: means a person who obtains motor fuel outside of Virginia and brings that motor fuel into Virginia by any means of conveyance other than in the fuel tank of a highway vehicle. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
• 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.
• Licensee: means any person licensed by the Commissioner pursuant to Article 2 (§ Virginia Code 58.1-2201
• Month: means a calendar month and "year" means a calendar year. See Virginia Code 1-223
• Motor fuel: means gasoline, diesel fuel, blended fuel, and aviation fuel. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
• Occasional importer: means any person who (i) imports motor fuel by any means outside the terminal transfer system and (ii) is not required to be licensed as a bonded importer. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
• 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.
• Permissive supplier: means an out-of-state supplier who elects, but is not required, to have a supplier's license under this chapter. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
• Person: means any individual; firm; cooperative; association; corporation; limited liability company; trust; business trust; syndicate; partnership; limited liability partnership; joint venture; receiver; trustee in bankruptcy; club, society or other group or combination acting as a unit; or public body, including but not limited to the Commonwealth, any other state, and any agency, department, institution, political subdivision or instrumentality of the Commonwealth or any other state. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
• Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• 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.
• Position holder: means a person who holds an inventory position of motor fuel in a terminal, as reflected on the records of the terminal operator. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
• Pro se: A Latin term meaning "on one's own behalf"; in courts, it refers to persons who present their own cases without lawyers.
• Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
• Removal: means a physical transfer other than by evaporation, loss, or destruction. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
• Retailer: means a person who (i) maintains storage facilities for motor fuel and (ii) sells the fuel at retail or dispenses the fuel at a retail location. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
• 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
• Supplier: means (i) a position holder, or (ii) a person who receives motor fuel pursuant to a two-party exchange. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
• Supreme Court: means the Supreme Court of Virginia. See Virginia Code 1-249
• sworn: means "affirm" or "affirmed. See Virginia Code 1-250
• Terminal: means a motor fuel storage and distribution facility (i) to which a terminal control number has been assigned by the Internal Revenue Service, (ii) to which motor fuel is supplied by pipeline or marine vessel, and (iii) from which motor fuel may be removed at a rack. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
• 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.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.