Terms Used In Florida Statutes > Chapter 427 - Special Transportation and Communications Services

• Administrator: means a corporation not for profit incorporated pursuant to the provisions of chapter 617 and designated by the Florida Public Service Commission to administer the telecommunications relay service system and the distribution of specialized telecommunications devices pursuant to the provisions of this act and rules and regulations established by the commission. See Florida Statutes 427.703
• 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.
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• 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.
• 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.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• 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
• Assistive technology device dealer: means a person who is engaged in the business of selling assistive technology devices. See Florida Statutes 427.802
• Assistive technology device lessor: means a person who leases an assistive technology device to a consumer, or holds the lessor's rights, under a written lease. See Florida Statutes 427.802
• Assistive technology devices: means manual wheelchairs, motorized wheelchairs, motorized scooters, voice-synthesized computer modules, optical scanners, talking software, braille printers, environmental control devices for use by a person with quadriplegia, motor vehicle adaptive transportation aids, devices that enable persons with severe speech disabilities to in effect speak, personal transfer systems, and specialty beds, including a demonstrator, that a consumer purchases or accepts transfer of in this state for use by a person with a disability. See Florida Statutes 427.802
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Collateral costs: means expenses incurred by a consumer in connection with the repair of a nonconformity, including the costs of obtaining an alternative assistive technology device. See Florida Statutes 427.802
• Commission: means the Florida Public Service Commission. See Florida Statutes 427.703
• Consumer: means an individual; child, by and through its parent or legal guardian; business; firm; association; joint venture; partnership; estate; trust; business trust; syndicate; fiduciary; corporation; any commercial entity, however denominated; or any other group or combination. See Florida Statutes 501.203
• Consumer: means any of the following:
  (a) The purchaser of an assistive technology device, if the assistive technology device was purchased from an assistive technology device dealer or manufacturer for purposes other than resale. See Florida Statutes 427.802
• 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.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Deaf: means having a permanent hearing impairment and being unable to discriminate speech sounds in verbal communication, with or without the assistance of amplification devices. See Florida Statutes 427.703
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Demonstrator: means an assistive technology device used primarily for the purpose of demonstration to the public. See Florida Statutes 427.802
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Dual sensory impaired: means having both a permanent hearing impairment and a permanent visual impairment and includes deaf/blindness. See Florida Statutes 427.703
• 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.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• Finance charge: The total cost of credit a customer must pay on a consumer loan, including interest. The Truth in Lending Act requires disclosure of the finance charge. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• Hard of hearing: means having a permanent hearing impairment which is severe enough to necessitate the use of amplification devices to discriminate speech sounds in verbal communication. See Florida Statutes 427.703
• 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}
• 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}
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Local exchange telecommunications company: means a telecommunications company certificated by the commission to provide telecommunications services within a specific geographic area. See Florida Statutes 427.703
• Manufacturer: means a business entity that manufactures or produces assistive technology devices for sale and agents of that business entity, including an importer, a distributor, a factory branch, a distributor branch, and any warrantors of the manufacturer's assistive technology device, but not including an assistive technology device dealer. See Florida Statutes 427.802
• minor: includes any person who has not attained the age of 18 years. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Nonconformity: means a condition or defect of an assistive technology device which substantially impairs the use, value, or safety of the device and which is covered by an express warranty applicable to the assistive technology device, but does not include a condition or defect that is the result of abuse, neglect, excessive wear, or unauthorized modification or alteration of the assistive technology device by a consumer. See Florida Statutes 427.802
• 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.
• 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 individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Person with a disability: means any person who has one or more permanent physical or mental limitations that restrict his or her ability to perform the normal activities of daily living and impede his or her capacity to live independently. See Florida Statutes 427.802
• political subdivision: include counties, cities, towns, villages, special tax school districts, special road and bridge districts, bridge districts, and all other districts in this state. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Reasonable attempt to repair: means , within the terms of an express warranty applicable to a new assistive technology device:
  (a) A maximum of three efforts by the manufacturer, the assistive technology device lessor, or any of the manufacturer's authorized assistive technology device dealers to repair a nonconformity that is subject to repair under the warranty; or
  (b) The passage of at least 30 cumulative days during which the assistive technology device is out of service because of a nonconformity that is covered by the warranty. See Florida Statutes 427.802
• Ring signaling device: means a mechanism, such as a flashing light, which visually indicates that a communication is being received through a telephone line. See Florida Statutes 427.703
• 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.
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Surcharge: means an additional charge which is to be paid by local exchange telecommunications company subscribers pursuant to the cost recovery mechanism established under…. See Florida Statutes 427.703
• TDD: means a mechanism which is connected to a standard telephone line, operated by means of a keyboard, and used to transmit or receive signals through telephone lines. See Florida Statutes 427.703
• Telecommunications company: includes every corporation, partnership, and person and their lessees, trustees, or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever, and every political subdivision of the state, offering two-way telecommunications service to the public for hire within this state by the use of a telecommunications facility. See Florida Statutes 427.703
• Telecommunications facility: includes real estate, easements, apparatus, property, and routes used and operated to provide two-way telecommunications service to the public for hire within this state. See Florida Statutes 427.703
• Telecommunications relay service: means any telecommunications transmission service that allows a person who is hearing impaired or speech impaired to communicate by wire or radio in a manner that is functionally equivalent to the ability of a person who is not hearing impaired or speech impaired. See Florida Statutes 427.703
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Variable Rate: Having a "variable" rate means that the APR changes from time to time based on fluctuations in an external rate, normally the Prime Rate. This external rate is known as the "index." If the index changes, the variable rate normally changes. Also see Fixed Rate.
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Volume control handset: means a telephone which has an adjustable control for increasing the volume of the sound being produced by the telephone receiving unit or by the telephone transmitting unit. See Florida Statutes 427.703
• Writ of certiorari: An order issued by the Supreme Court directing the lower court to transmit records for a case for which it will hear on appeal.
• writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 1.01