Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes > Chapter 398 > Part I - General Provisions

• 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.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• 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}
• Child: means an individual who is a biological, adopted, or foster son or daughter; a stepchild; or a legal ward of an employee. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 398-1
• 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.
• Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the department of labor and industrial relations. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 398-1
• Director: means the director of labor and industrial relations. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 398-1
• employed: means service, including service in interstate commerce, performed for wages under any contract of hire, written or oral, express or implied, with an employer. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 398-1
• Employee: means a person who performs services for hire for not fewer than six consecutive months for the employer from whom benefits are sought under this chapter. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 398-1
• Employer: means any individual or organization, including the State, any of its political subdivisions, any instrumentality of the State or its political subdivisions, any partnership, association, trust, estate, joint stock company, insurance company, or corporation, whether domestic or foreign, or receiver or trustee in bankruptcy, or the legal representative of a deceased person, who employs one hundred or more employees for each working day during each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 398-1
• Employment benefits: means all benefits (other than salary or wages) provided or made available to employees by an employer, and includes group life insurance, accident and health or sickness insurance, sick leave, annual leave, educational benefits, and pensions, regardless of whether the benefits are provided by a policy or practice of an employer or by an employee benefit plan as defined in section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 398-1
• 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.
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• 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.
• Health care provider: means a physician as defined under § 386-1. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 398-1
• 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.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• 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.
• Parent: means a biological, foster, or adoptive parent, a parent-in-law, a stepparent, a legal guardian, a grandparent, or a grandparent-in-law. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 398-1
• 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.
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Serious health condition: means a physical or mental condition that warrants the participation of the employee to provide care during the period of treatment or supervision by a health care provider, and:

  (1) Involves inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential health care facility; or

  (2) Requires continuing treatment or continuing supervision by a health care provider. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 398-1

• 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.
• Sibling: means an individual who is a biological, adopted, or foster brother or sister; or a stepbrother or stepsister of an employee. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 398-1
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.