Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 2 > Chapter 10 - State Agency Actions Affecting Private Property

• Action with taking or damaging implications: means a proposed state agency administrative rule, policy, or permit condition or denial pertaining to land or water management or to some other environmental matter that if adopted and enforced would constitute a deprivation of private property in violation of the United States or Montana constitution. See Montana Code 2-10-103
• Affidavit: means a sworn written declaration made before an officer authorized to administer oaths or an unsworn written declaration made under penalty of perjury as provided in 1-6-105. See Montana Code 1-1-203
• 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.
• 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.
• 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}
• Claim: includes any request or demand for money, property, or services, whether made pursuant to a contract and regardless of whether a governmental entity holds title to the money or property, that is made to:

  (a)an employee, officer, agent, or other representative of a governmental entity; or

  (b)a contractor, grantee, or other person, whether under contract or not, if any portion of the money, property, or services requested or demanded is to be spent or used on a governmental entity's behalf or to advance a governmental program or interest and if the governmental entity:

  (i)provides or has provided any portion of the money, property, or services requested or demanded; or

  (ii)will reimburse a contractor, grantee, or other person for any portion of the money, property, or services requested or demanded. See Montana Code 17-8-402

• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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.
• Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• 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:
• 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.
• 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}
• Government attorney: means the attorney general except for complaints involving a unit of the university system. See Montana Code 17-8-402
• Governmental entity: means :

  (a)the state;

  (b)a city, town, county, school district, tax or assessment district, or other political subdivision of the state; or

  (c)a unit of the Montana university system. See Montana Code 17-8-402

• 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 committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
• Judicial officer: includes all judicial officers, justices, district court judges, and judges of the judicial branch of state government. See Montana Code 2-2-102
• Judicial officers: means justices of the supreme court, judges of the district courts, justices of the peace, municipal judges, and city judges. See Montana Code 1-1-202
• 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.
• Jurisprudence: The study of law and the structure of the legal system.
• Knowingly: means that a person, with respect to information, does any of the following:

  (i)has actual knowledge of the information;

  (ii)acts in deliberate ignorance of the truth or falsity of the information; or

  (iii)acts in reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the information. See Montana Code 17-8-402

• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Local government: means a county, a consolidated government, an incorporated city or town, a school district, or a special district. See Montana Code 2-2-102
• Majority party: means the party with the most members in a house of the legislature, subject to subsection (2). See Montana Code 1-1-208
• Material: means having a natural tendency to influence or be capable of influencing the payment or receipt of money, property, or services. See Montana Code 17-8-402
• Minority party: means the party with the second most members in a house of the legislature, subject to subsection (2). See Montana Code 1-1-208
• 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}
• 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.
• 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.
• Obligation: means an established duty, whether fixed or not, arising from:

  (a)an express or implied contractual, grantor-grantee, or licensor-licensee relationship;

  (b)a fee-based or similar relationship;

  (c)a statute or regulation; or

  (d)the retention of any overpayment. See Montana Code 17-8-402

• 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 any natural person, corporation, firm, association, organization, partnership, limited liability company, business, trust, or other legal or business entity. See Montana Code 17-8-402
• Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• 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.
• 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.
• Private interest: means an interest held by an individual that is:

  (a)an ownership interest in a business;

  (b)a creditor interest in an insolvent business;

  (c)an employment or prospective employment for which negotiations have begun;

  (d)an ownership interest in real property;

  (e)a loan or other debtor interest; or

  (f)a directorship or officership in a business. See Montana Code 2-2-102

• Private property: means all real property, including but not limited to water rights. See Montana Code 2-10-103
• Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Montana Code 1-1-202
• Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
• Public information: has the meaning provided in 2-6-1002. See Montana Code 2-2-102
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• 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.
• 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.
• Several: means two or more. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• State: means the state of Montana. See Montana Code 17-8-402
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• State agency: means an officer, board, commission, department, or other entity within the executive branch of state government. See Montana Code 2-10-103
• State agency: includes :

  (i)the state;

  (ii)the legislature and its committees;

  (iii)all executive departments, boards, commissions, committees, bureaus, and offices;

  (iv)the university system; and

  (v)all independent commissions and other establishments of the state government. See Montana Code 2-2-102

• State officer: includes all elected officers and directors of the executive branch of state government as defined in 2-15-102 and all judicial officers, justices, district court judges, and judges of the judicial branch of state government. See Montana Code 2-2-102
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Taking or damaging: means depriving a property owner of private property in a manner requiring compensation under the 5th and 14th amendments to the constitution of the United States or Article II, section 29, of the Montana constitution. See Montana Code 2-10-103
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Willfully: when applied to the intent with which an act is done or omitted, means a purpose or willingness to commit the act or make the omission referred to. See Montana Code 1-1-204
• Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203