Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes > Title 44 > Chapter 4 > Part II - Deeds, Mortgages and Other Instruments

• Affiliate: as used in this Chapter , means a specific person who is directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, controlled by, or controls, or is under common control with the person specified. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:3516
• Agency: means a department, office, division, agency, commission, board, committee, or other organizational unit of a governmental entity. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 42:1102
• Agency head: means the chief executive or administrative officer of an agency or any member of a board or commission who exercises supervision over the agency. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 42:1102
• 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.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• 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.
• Artist: means the creator or each of the joint creators of a work of fine art. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:2152
• artistic or creative services: includes , but is not limited to, services as an actor, actress, dancer, musician, comedian, singer, stunt-person, voice-over artist or other performer or entertainer in any motion picture, television, radio, theatrical or sports production or commercial production. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:2132
• 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}
• Board: means the Board of Ethics. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 42:1102
• Check: means any check, draft, item, orders or requests for payment of money, negotiable orders, withdrawal or any other instrument used to pay a debt or transfer money from one to another. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:3516
• Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Conservation: means acts taken to prevent, stop, or retard deterioration of a work of fine art. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:2152
• Consumer: means a natural person who purchases goods, services, or movable or immovable property or rights therein, for a personal, family, or household purpose and includes a purchaser or buyer in a consumer credit sale or transaction made with the use of a seller credit card or otherwise, or a borrower or debtor in a consumer loan, revolving loan account, or a lender credit card. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:3516
• 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.
• Credit report: A detailed report of an individual's credit history prepared by a credit bureau and used by a lender in determining a loan applicant's creditworthiness. ^{Source: OCC}
• Credit Score: A number, roughly between 300 and 800, that measures an individual's credit worthiness. The most well-known type of credit score is the FICO score. This score represents the answer from a mathematical formula that assigns numerical values to various pieces of information in your credit report. ^{Source: OCC}
• Cyber incident: means the compromise of the security, confidentiality, or integrity of computerized data due to the exfiltration, modification, or deletion that results in the unauthorized acquisition of and access to information maintained by a public body. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:2112
• Cyber ransom or ransomware: means a type of malware that encrypts or locks valuable digital files and demands a ransom to release the files. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:2112
• 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.
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• 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:
• Elected official: means any person holding an office in a governmental entity which is filled by the vote of the appropriate electorate. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 42:1102
• Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• 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 Credit Reporting Act: A federal law, established in 1971 and revised in 1997, that gives consumers the right to see their credit records and correct any mistakes. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• 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.
• 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.
• Governmental entity: means the state or any political subdivision which employs the public employee or employed the former public employee or to which the elected official is elected, as the case may be. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 42:1102
• his agency: when used in reference to the agency of a public servant shall mean:

              (i) For public servants in the twenty principal departments of the executive branch of state government, the office in which such public servant carries out his primary responsibilities; except that in the case of the secretary, deputy secretary, or undersecretary of any such department and officials carrying out the responsibilities of such department officers it shall mean the department in which he serves; and except that in the case of public servants who are members or employees of a board or commission or who provide staff assistance to a board or commission, it shall mean the board or commission. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 42:1102

• 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}
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Louisiana Fusion Center: means the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, office of state police, Louisiana State Analytical and Fusion Exchange. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:2112
• Managed security service: means a network and system security service that has been outsourced to a third-party service provider pursuant to a written agreement specifying the service and in which the service provider has assumed operational control of the monitoring and management of the public body's cybersecurity. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:2112
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. ^{Source: OCC}
• Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• 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 a body of persons, whether incorporated or not. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 1:10
• Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental body, or other group, however organized. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:2152
• Person: means an individual or legal entity other than a governmental entity, or an agency thereof. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 42:1102
• Person: as used in this Chapter means an individual or corporation, partnership, trust, association, joint venture pool, syndicate, sole proprietorship, unincorporated organization, or any other form of entity not specifically listed herein. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:3516
• 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.
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Provider: means a managed service provider or managed security service provider that requires remote management or operational control of a public body's network or end user systems. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:2112
• Public body: means any branch, department, office, agency, board, commission, district, governing authority, political subdivision, or any other instrumentality of the state, parish, or municipal government, including a public or quasi-public nonprofit corporation designated as an entity to perform a governmental or proprietary function. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:2112
• Public employee: means anyone, whether compensated or not, who is:

              (i) An administrative officer or official of a governmental entity who is not filling an elective office. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 42:1102

• Public servant: means a public employee or an elected official. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 42:1102
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Reproduction: means a copy or likeness, in any medium, of a work of fine art that is displayed or published under circumstances that, reasonably construed, evidence an intent that it be taken as a representation of a work of fine art as created by the artist. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:2152
• Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
• Restoration: means acts taken to correct deterioration and alteration of a work of fine art. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:2152
• Service: means the performance of work, duties, or responsibilities, or the leasing, rental, or sale of movable or immovable property. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 42:1102
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• 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.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Work of fine art: means any original work of visual or graphic art of recognized quality in any medium which includes, but is not limited to, the following: painting, drawing, print, photographic print, or sculpture of a limited edition of no more than three hundred copies; however, "work of fine art" shall not include sequential imagery such as motion pictures. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:2152