Terms Used In California Codes > Health and Safety Code > Division 112 > Part 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS

• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Approved laboratory: as used in this chapter means a laboratory approved by the department, or any other laboratory whose director is licensed by the department according to law. See California Health and Safety Code 120675
• 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.
• Attorney-in-fact: A person who, acting as an agent, is given written authorization by another person to transact business for him (her) out of court.
• Authorized agency activities: includes ministerial functions such as providing loan applications, assembling documents, providing a location for returning documents necessary for making a loan, providing loan account information, receiving payments, disbursing loan funds, evaluating loan applications, and other activities that the commissioner may specify by rule or order. See California Financial Code 18660
• 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}
• Capital: as used in this division , consists of all of the following:

  California Financial Code 18018

• Capital Stock: as used in this division , means one-class voting common stock. See California Financial Code 18019
• City: includes "city and county. See California Insurance Code 15
• Commissioner: means the Insurance Commissioner of this State. See California Insurance Code 20
• Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Act: means Sections 104730, 104830 to 104860, inclusive, 113150, 113155, Part 1 (commencing with Section 120100) of, Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 120325, but excluding Section 120380) of Part 2 of, Part 3 (commencing with Section 120500) of, and Part 5 (commencing with Section 121350) of, Division 105. See California Health and Safety Code 27
• company: as used in this division means a premium finance agency as defined in Section 18560. See California Financial Code 18003
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• 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.
• County: includes "city and county. See California Insurance Code 14
• 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.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• department: means State Department of Health Services. See California Health and Safety Code 20
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• 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.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Domestic: means organized under the laws of this State, whether or not admitted. See California Insurance Code 26
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: A government corporation that insures the deposits of all national and state banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System. ^{Source: OCC}
• Foreign: means not organized under the laws of this State, whether or not admitted. See California Insurance Code 27
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Habeas corpus: A writ that is usually used to bring a prisoner before the court to determine the legality of his imprisonment. It may also be used to bring a person in custody before the court to give testimony, or to be prosecuted.
• 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}
• Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Insurance agent: means a person authorized, by and on behalf of an insurer, to transact all classes of insurance other than life, disability, or health insurance, on behalf of an admitted insurance company. See California Insurance Code 31
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• 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.
• Nutrition education: means a planned sequential instructional program that provides knowledge and teaches skills to help pupils adopt and maintain lifelong, healthy eating patterns. See California Education Code 8996
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• 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: means any person, association, organization, partnership, business trust, limited liability company, or corporation. See California Insurance Code 19
• Person: includes any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company, limited liability company, syndicate, estate, trust, business trust, or organization of any kind. See California Financial Code 18
• Person: means any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust, corporation, limited liability company, or company. See California Health and Safety Code 19
• 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.
• 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.
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• Probate: Proving a will
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Property: includes both personal and real property. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. ^{Source: FDIC}
• 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.
• Resident: means residing in this State, "nonresident" means not residing in this State. See California Insurance Code 30
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• social service transportation: means transportation services provided by private nonprofit organizations or individuals to either individuals who are senior citizens or individuals or groups of individuals who have special transportation needs because of physical or mental conditions and supported in whole or in part by funding from private or public agencies. See California Insurance Code 11580.1
• Spouse: includes "registered domestic partner" as required by §. See California Health and Safety Code 12.2
• State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Public Utilities Code 17
• State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Insurance Code 28
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• subscription: includes mark when the signer or subscriber cannot write, such signer's or subscriber's name being written near the mark by a witness who writes his own name near the signer's or subscriber's name. See California Public Utilities Code 16
• Surplus deposits of subscribers: as used in this chapter , means amounts, over and above any premium charges, which are contributed by subscribers and which are used for the purpose of funding the surplus of a reciprocal or interinsurance exchange. See California Insurance Code 1374.1
• 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.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• User fees: Fees charged to users of goods or services provided by the government. In levying or authorizing these fees, the legislature determines whether the revenue should go into the treasury or should be available to the agency providing the goods or services.
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Will: includes codicil. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
• Writ: means an order or precept in writing, issued in the name of the people, or of a court or judicial officer. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
• Writing: includes any form of recorded message capable of comprehension by ordinary visual means. See California Financial Code 8