Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes > Chapter 60A - General Insurance Powers

• Abandon: means to give up the use and maintenance of structures or improvements to realty and to surrender them to deterioration. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• Account: means any deposit or credit account with a bank, including a demand, time, savings, passbook, share draft, or like account, other than an account evidenced by a certificate of deposit;

  (2) "Afternoon" means the period of a day between noon and midnight;

  (3) "Banking day" means that part of any day, excluding Saturday, Sunday, and holidays, on which a bank is open to the public for carrying on substantially all of its banking functions;

  (4) "Clearinghouse" means an association of banks or other payors regularly clearing items;

  (5) "Customer" means a person having an account with a bank or for whom a bank has agreed to collect items, including a bank that maintains an account at another bank;

  (6) "Documentary draft" means a draft to be presented for acceptance or payment if specified documents, certificated securities (section 336. See Minnesota Statutes 336.4-104

• Adult: means an individual 18 years of age or older. See Minnesota Statutes 645.451
• Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
• 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.
• Agricultural land: means : land used for horticultural, row, close grown, pasture, and hayland crops; growing nursery stocks; animal feedlots; farm yards; associated building sites; and public and private drainage systems and field roads located on any of the foregoing. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• 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.
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• Annual percentage rate: The cost of credit at a yearly rate. It is calculated in a standard way, taking the average compound interest rate over the term of the loan so borrowers can compare loans. Lenders are required by law to disclose a card account's APR. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Appropriating: means withdrawal, removal, or transfer of water from its source regardless of how the water is used. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• 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.
• 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.
• Baseline: Projection of the receipts, outlays, and other budget amounts that would ensue in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.
• Basin of origin: means the drainage basin of the Great Lakes, the Red River of the North, the Mississippi River, or the Missouri River. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• 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}
• Bequeath: To gift property by will.
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• Board: means the Board of Water and Soil Resources. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• Case law: The law as laid down in cases that have been decided in the decisions of the courts.
• Chair: includes chairman, chairwoman, and chairperson. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• children: includes children by birth or adoption;

  (9) "day" comprises the time from midnight to the next midnight;

  (10) "fiscal year" means the year by or for which accounts are reckoned;

  (11) "hereafter" means a reference to the time after the time when the law containing such word takes effect;

  (12) "heretofore" means a reference to the time previous to the time when the law containing such word takes effect;

  (13) "judicial sale" means a sale conducted by an officer or person authorized for the purpose by some competent tribunal;

  (14) "minor" means an individual under the age of 18 years;

  (15) "money" means lawful money of the United States;

  (16) "night time" means the time from sunset to sunrise;

  (17) "non compos mentis" refers to an individual of unsound mind;

  (18) "notary" means a notary public;

  (19) "now" in any provision of a law referring to other laws in force, or to persons in office, or to any facts or circumstances as existing, relates to the laws in force, or to the persons in office, or to the facts or circumstances existing, respectively, on the effective date of such provision;

  (20) "verified" when used in reference to writings, means supported by oath or affirmation. See Minnesota Statutes 645.45

• Citizen monitoring: means monitoring of surface water quality by individuals and nongovernmental organizations that is consistent with section 115. See Minnesota Statutes 114D.15
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of the Department of Administration. See Minnesota Statutes 13.02
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of natural resources. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Comprehensive local water management plan: has the meaning given under section 103B. See Minnesota Statutes 114D.15
• Comprehensive watershed management plan: has the meaning given under section 103B. See Minnesota Statutes 114D.15
• Constructed management facilities for stormwater: means ponds, basins, holding tanks, cisterns, infiltration trenches and swales, or other best management practices that have been designed, constructed, and operated to store or treat stormwater in accordance with local, state, or federal requirements. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• Consumptive use: means water that is withdrawn from its source for immediate further use in the area of the source and is not directly returned to the source. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• council: means the Clean Water Council created pursuant to section 114D. See Minnesota Statutes 114D.15
• court administrator: means the court administrator of the court in which the action or proceeding is pending, and "court administrator's office" means that court administrator's office. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• 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}
• Criminal justice agencies: means all state and local prosecution authorities, all state and local law enforcement agencies, the Sentencing Guidelines Commission, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Department of Corrections, and all probation officers who are not part of the judiciary. See Minnesota Statutes 13.02
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Data on individuals: means all government data in which any individual is or can be identified as the subject of that data, unless the appearance of the name or other identifying data can be clearly demonstrated to be only incidental to the data and the data are not accessed by the name or other identifying data of any individual. See Minnesota Statutes 13.02
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• 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.
• Designee: means any person designated by a responsible authority to be in charge of individual files or systems containing government data and to receive and comply with requests for government data. See Minnesota Statutes 13.02
• Director: means the director of the Division of Ecological and Water Resources of the Department of Natural Resources. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• 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:
• Division: means the Division of Ecological and Water Resources of the Department of Natural Resources. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Draft: means a draft as defined in section 336. See Minnesota Statutes 336.4-104
• Drawee: means a person ordered in a draft to make payment;

  (9) "Item" means an instrument or a promise or order to pay money handled by a bank for collection or payment. See Minnesota Statutes 336.4-104

• Ecosystem harm: means to change the biological community and ecology in a manner that results in loss of ecological structure or function. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• Electronic funds transfer: The transfer of money between accounts by consumer electronic systems-such as automated teller machines (ATMs) and electronic payment of bills-rather than by check or cash. (Wire transfers, checks, drafts, and paper instruments do not fall into this category.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Electronic transmission: means the transfer of data or information through an electronic data interchange system consisting of, but not limited to, computer modems and computer networks. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• 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}
• 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.
• 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}
• estimated market value: has the meaning given in section 273. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• 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.
• 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}
• Federal Reserve System: The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve System is composed of a central governmental agency in Washington, D.C. (the Board of Governors) and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in major cities throughout the United States. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• 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}
• Fixed Rate: Having a "fixed" rate means that the APR doesn't change based on fluctuations of some external rate (such as the "Prime Rate"). In other words, a fixed rate is a rate that is not a variable rate. A fixed APR can change over time, in several circumstances:
  • You are late making a payment or commit some other default, triggering an increase to a penalty rate
  • The bank changes the terms of your account and you do not reject the change.
  • The rate expires (if the rate was fixed for only a certain period of time).
• Forbearance: A means of handling a delinquent loan. A
• Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• full age: means 18 years of age or older. See Minnesota Statutes 645.451
• Germane: On the subject of the pending bill or other business; a strict standard of relevance.
• Government data: means all data collected, created, received, maintained or disseminated by any government entity regardless of its physical form, storage media or conditions of use. See Minnesota Statutes 13.02
• Government entity: means a state agency, statewide system, or political subdivision. See Minnesota Statutes 13.02
• Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
• Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• Hayland: means an area that was mechanically harvested or that was planted with annually seeded crops in a crop rotation seeding of grasses or legumes in six of the last ten years prior to January 1, 1991. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• Holiday: includes New Year's Day, January 1; Martin Luther King's Birthday, the third Monday in January; Washington's and Lincoln's Birthday, the third Monday in February; Memorial Day, the last Monday in May; Juneteenth, June 19; Independence Day, July 4; Labor Day, the first Monday in September; Indigenous Peoples Day, the second Monday in October; Veterans Day, November 11; Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November; and Christmas Day, December 25; provided, when New Year's Day, January 1; or Juneteenth, June 19; or Independence Day, July 4; or Veterans Day, November 11; or Christmas Day, December 25; falls on Sunday, the following day shall be a holiday and, provided, when New Year's Day, January 1; or Juneteenth, June 19; or Independence Day, July 4; or Veterans Day, November 11; or Christmas Day, December 25; falls on Saturday, the preceding day shall be a holiday. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• In-lieu fee program: means a program in which wetland replacement requirements of section 103G. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• 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}
• individual: includes a parent or guardian or an individual acting as a parent or guardian in the absence of a parent or guardian, except that the responsible authority shall withhold data from parents or guardians, or individuals acting as parents or guardians in the absence of parents or guardians, upon request by the minor if the responsible authority determines that withholding the data would be in the best interest of the minor. See Minnesota Statutes 13.02
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Inter vivos: Transfer of property from one living person to another living person.
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• Joint meeting: An occasion, often ceremonial, when the House and Senate each adopt a unanimous consent agreement
• Joint tenancy: A form of property ownership in which two or more parties hold an undivided interest in the same property that was conveyed under the same instrument at the same time. A joint tenant can sell his (her) interest but not dispose of it by will. Upon the death of a joint tenant, his (her) undivided interest is distributed among the surviving joint tenants.
• Legacy: A gift of property made by will.
• Legatee: A beneficiary of a decedent
• Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Local government unit: means :

  (1) outside of the seven-county metropolitan area, a city council, county board of commissioners, or a soil and water conservation district or their delegate;

  (2) in the seven-county metropolitan area, a city council, a town board under section 368. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005

• Majority: means with respect to an individual the period of time after the individual reaches the age of 18. See Minnesota Statutes 645.451
• Minor: means an individual under the age of 18. See Minnesota Statutes 645.451
• Month: means a calendar month and "year" means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed; and "year" is equivalent to the expression "year of our Lord. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. ^{Source: OCC}
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
• Municipality: means a home rule charter or statutory city. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• National Bank: A bank that is subject to the supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. A national bank can be recognized because it must have "national" or "national association" in its name. ^{Source: OCC}
• Natural background: means characteristics of the water body resulting from the multiplicity of factors in nature, including climate and ecosystem dynamics, that affect the physical, chemical, or biological conditions in a water body, but does not include measurable and distinguishable pollution that is attributable to human activity or influence. See Minnesota Statutes 114D.15
• Natural watercourse: means a natural channel that has definable beds and banks capable of conducting confined runoff from adjacent land. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• Negative impact to surface waters: means a change in hydrology sufficient to cause aquatic ecosystem harm or alter riparian uses long term. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• 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.
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Oath: includes "affirmation" in all cases where by law an affirmation may be substituted for an oath; and in like cases "swear" includes "affirm" and "sworn" "affirmed. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Once-through system: means a space heating, ventilating, air conditioning (HVAC), or refrigeration system used for any type of temperature or humidity control application, utilizing groundwater, that circulates through the system and is then discharged without reusing it for a higher priority purpose. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• Open-end credit: A credit agreement (typically a credit card) that allows a customer to borrow against a preapproved credit line when purchasing goods and services. The borrower is only billed for the amount that is actually borrowed plus any interest due. (Also called a charge account or revolving credit.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Ordinary high-water level: means the boundary of water basins, watercourses, public waters, and public waters wetlands, and:

  (1) the ordinary high-water level is an elevation delineating the highest water level that has been maintained for a sufficient period of time to leave evidence upon the landscape, commonly the point where the natural vegetation changes from predominantly aquatic to predominantly terrestrial;

  (2) for watercourses, the ordinary high-water level is the elevation of the top of the bank of the channel; and

  (3) for reservoirs and flowages, the ordinary high-water level is the operating elevation of the normal summer pool. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005

• Pasture: means an area that was grazed by domesticated livestock or that was planted with annually seeded crops in a crop rotation seeding of grasses or legumes in six of the last ten years prior to January 1, 1991. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• Person: means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, business trust, or a legal representative of an organization. See Minnesota Statutes 13.02
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Political subdivision: means any county, statutory or home rule charter city, school district, special district, any town exercising powers under chapter 368 and located in the metropolitan area, as defined in section 473. See Minnesota Statutes 13.02
• Political subdivision: means a county, city, town, school district, or other local government jurisdiction to which the state provides state aids or on which the state imposes state mandates. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• 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.
• Preliminary hearing: A hearing where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to make the defendant have a trial.
• Presettlement wetland: means a wetland or public waters wetland that existed in this state at the time of statehood in 1858. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probation officers: Screen applicants for pretrial release and monitor convicted offenders released under court supervision.
• Project: means a specific plan, contiguous activity, proposal, or design necessary to accomplish a goal as defined by the local government unit. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Public agencies: means all state agencies, political subdivisions, joint powers organizations, and special purpose units of government with authority, responsibility, or expertise in protecting, restoring, or preserving the quality of surface waters, managing or planning for surface waters and related lands, or financing waters-related projects. See Minnesota Statutes 114D.15
• Public member: means a person who is not, or never was, a member of the profession or occupation being licensed or regulated or the spouse of any such person, or a person who does not have or has never had, a material financial interest in either the providing of the professional service being licensed or regulated, or an activity directly related to the profession or occupation being licensed or regulated. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Public waters: means :

  (1) water basins assigned a shoreland management classification by the commissioner under sections 103F. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005

• Public waters: means public waters as defined in section 103G. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Public waters wetlands: means all types 3, 4, and 5 wetlands, as defined in United States Fish and Wildlife Service Circular No. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• 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.
• Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
• 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.
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Restoration: means actions taken to pursue, achieve, and maintain water quality standards for impaired waters. See Minnesota Statutes 114D.15
• Revocable trust: A trust agreement that can be canceled, rescinded, revoked, or repealed by the grantor (person who establishes the trust).
• Right of rescission: Right to cancel, within three business days, a contract that uses the home of a person as collateral, except in the case of a first mortgage loan. There is no fee to the borrower, who receives a full refund of all fees paid. The right of rescission is guaranteed by the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). ^{Source: OCC}
• seal: includes an impression thereof upon the paper alone, as well as an impression on a wafer, wax, or other substance thereto attached. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Sentencing guidelines: A set of rules and principles established by the United States Sentencing Commission that trial judges use to determine the sentence for a convicted defendant. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Sequester: To separate. Sometimes juries are sequestered from outside influences during their deliberations.
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Shallow lake: means a body of water, excluding a stream, that is greater than or equal to 50 acres in size and less than or equal to 15 feet in maximum depth. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• Shoreland wetland protection zone: means :

  (1) for local government units that have a shoreland management ordinance approved under sections 103F. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005

• Small business: means a business entity organized for profit, including but not limited to any individual, partnership, corporation, joint venture, association or cooperative, which entity:

  (1) is not an affiliate or subsidiary of a business dominant in its field of operation; and

  (2) has 20 or fewer full-time employees; or

  (3) in the preceding fiscal year has not had more than the equivalent of $1,000,000 in annual gross revenues; or

  (4) if the business is a technical or professional service, shall not have had more than the equivalent of $2,500,000 in annual gross revenues in the preceding fiscal year. See Minnesota Statutes 645.445

• State agency: means the state, the University of Minnesota, and any office, officer, department, division, bureau, board, commission, authority, district or agency of the state. See Minnesota Statutes 13.02
• Statewide system: includes any record-keeping system in which government data is collected, stored, disseminated and used by means of a system common to one or more state agencies or more than one of its political subdivisions or any combination of state agencies and political subdivisions. See Minnesota Statutes 13.02
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summary data: means statistical records and reports derived from data on individuals but in which individuals are not identified and from which neither their identities nor any other characteristic that could uniquely identify an individual is ascertainable. See Minnesota Statutes 13.02
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Surface waters: means waters of the state as defined in section 115. See Minnesota Statutes 114D.15
• Sustainable diversion limit: means a maximum amount of water that can be removed directly or indirectly from a surface water body in a defined geographic area on a monthly or annual basis without causing a negative impact to the surface water body. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• TMDL: means a scientific study that contains a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that may be introduced into a surface water and still ensure that applicable water quality standards for that water are restored and maintained. See Minnesota Statutes 114D.15
• TMDL implementation plan: means a document detailing restoration strategies or activities needed to meet approved TMDL pollutant load allocations for point and nonpoint sources. See Minnesota Statutes 114D.15
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• 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.
• Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• Utility: means a sanitary sewer, storm sewer, potable water distribution, and transmission, distribution, or furnishing, at wholesale or retail, of natural or manufactured gas, electricity, telephone, or radio service or communications. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• 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.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• verified: when used in reference to writings, means supported by oath or affirmation. See Minnesota Statutes 645.45
• Water basin: means an enclosed natural depression with definable banks, capable of containing water, that may be partly filled with waters of the state and is discernible on aerial photographs. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• Waters of the state: means surface or underground waters, except surface waters that are not confined but are spread and diffused over the land. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• Watershed: means the 81 major watershed units delineated by the map, "State of Minnesota Watershed Boundaries - 1979. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• Wetland type: means a wetland type classified according to Wetlands of the United States, United States Fish and Wildlife Service Circular 39 (1971 edition), as summarized in this subdivision. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• Wetlands: means lands transitional between terrestrial and aquatic systems where the water table is usually at or near the surface or the land is covered by shallow water. See Minnesota Statutes 103G.005
• Wetlands: means lands transitional between terrestrial and aquatic systems where the water table is usually at or near the surface or the land is covered by shallow water. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• WRAPS: means a document summarizing scientific studies of a major watershed at approximately a hydrologic unit code 8 scale with strategies designed to achieve and maintain water quality standards and goals. See Minnesota Statutes 114D.15
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
• 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.