Virginia Code 8.01-216.2: Definitions.
As used in this article, unless the context requires otherwise:
Terms Used In Virginia Code 8.01-216.2
- Attorney General: means the Attorney General of Virginia, the Chief Deputy, other deputies, counsels or assistant attorneys general employed by the Office of the Attorney General and designated by the Attorney General to act pursuant to this article. See Virginia Code 8.01-216.2
- Commonwealth: means the Commonwealth of Virginia, any agency of state government, and any political subdivision of the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 8.01-216.2
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- 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.
- Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- Employee: includes an employee or officer of the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 8.01-216.2
- Includes: means includes, but not limited to. See Virginia Code 1-218
- Investigation: means any inquiry conducted by an investigator for the purpose of ascertaining whether any person is or has been engaged in any violation of this article. See Virginia Code 8.01-216.2
- 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: includes any natural person, corporation, firm, association, organization, partnership, limited liability company, business or trust. See Virginia Code 8.01-216.2
- 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
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
“Attorney General” means the Attorney General of Virginia, the Chief Deputy, other deputies, counsels or assistant attorneys general employed by the Office of the Attorney General and designated by the Attorney General to act pursuant to this article.
“Claim” means any request or demand, whether under a contract or otherwise, for money or property, regardless of whether the Commonwealth has title to the money or property, that (i) is presented to an officer, employee, or agent of the Commonwealth or (ii) is made to a contractor, grantee, or other recipient (a) if the money or property is to be spent or used on the Commonwealth’s behalf or to advance a governmental program or interest and (b) if the Commonwealth provides or has provided any portion of the money or property requested or demanded or will reimburse such contractor, grantee, or other recipient for any portion of the money or property that is requested or demanded. For purposes of this article, “claim” does not include requests or demands for money or property that the Commonwealth has paid to an individual as compensation for employment with the Commonwealth or as income subsidy with no restriction on that individual’s use of the money or property.
“Commonwealth” means the Commonwealth of Virginia, any agency of state government, and any political subdivision of the Commonwealth.
“Documentary material” means the original or any copy of any book, record, report, memorandum, paper, communication, tabulation, chart, or other document, or data compilations stored in or accessible through computer or other information retrieval systems, together with instructions and all other materials necessary to use or interpret such data compilations, and any product of discovery.
“Employee” includes an employee or officer of the Commonwealth.
“Employer” includes the Commonwealth.
“Investigation” means any inquiry conducted by an investigator for the purpose of ascertaining whether any person is or has been engaged in any violation of this article.
“Material” means having a natural tendency to influence, or be capable of influencing, the payment or receipt of money or property.
“Obligation” means an established duty, whether or not fixed, arising from (i) an express or implied contractual, grantor-grantee, or licensor-licensee relationship; (ii) a fee-based or similar relationship; (iii) a statute or regulation; or (iv) the retention of any overpayment.
“Official use” means any use that is consistent with the law, regulations, and policies of the Commonwealth, including use in connection with (i) internal memoranda and reports of the Office of the Attorney General; (ii) communications between the Office of the Attorney General and a federal, state, or local government agency, or a contractor of a federal, state, or local government agency, undertaken in furtherance of an Office of the Attorney General investigation or prosecution of a case; (iii) interviews of any qui tam relator or other witness; (iv) oral examinations; (v) depositions; (vi) the preparation for and response to civil discovery requests; (vii) the introduction into the record of a case or proceeding; (viii) applications, motions, memoranda, and briefs submitted to a court or other tribunal; and (ix) communications with government investigators, auditors, consultants, experts, the counsel of other parties, arbitrators, and mediators, concerning an investigation, case, or proceeding.
“Person” includes any natural person, corporation, firm, association, organization, partnership, limited liability company, business or trust.
“Product of discovery” means (i) the original or duplicate of any deposition, interrogatory, document, thing, result of the inspection of land or other property, examination, or admission, which is obtained by any method of discovery in any judicial or administrative proceeding of an adversarial nature; (ii) any digest, analysis, selection, compilation, or derivation of any item listed in clause (i); and (iii) any index or other manner of access to any item listed in clause (i).