Terms Used In New York Laws > Vehicle and Traffic > Title 2 - Department of Motor Vehicles; Commissioner

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• 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.
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• 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.
• 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.
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• 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.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• 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.
• Fiscal year: means a period of one year commencing on the first day of July and terminating on the thirtieth day of June. See N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law 239
• Foreign professional service corporation: has the meaning given to it in subdivision (d) of § 1525 of the business corporation law. See N.Y. Limited Liability Company Law 1201
• Foreign professional service limited liability company: has the meaning given to it in subdivision (a) of section thirteen hundred one of this chapter. See N.Y. Limited Liability Company Law 1201
• 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.
• 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.
• Judgement: The official decision of a court finally determining the respective rights and claims of the parties to a suit.
• 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}
• Lessee: means any person, corporation, firm, partnership, agency, association or organization that rents, bails, leases or contracts for the use of one or more vehicles and has the exclusive use thereof for any period of time. See N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law 239
• Lessor: means any person, corporation, firm, partnership, agency, association or organization engaged in the business of renting or leasing vehicles to any lessee or bailee under a rental agreement, lease or otherwise, wherein the said lessee or bailee has the exclusive use of said vehicle for any period of time. See N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law 239
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Licensing authority: means the regents of the university of the state of New York or the state education department, as the case may be, in the case of all professions licensed under title eight of the education law, and the appropriate appellate division of the supreme court in the case of the profession of law. See N.Y. Limited Liability Company Law 1201
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• limited partnership: means a limited partnership formed under the laws of this state; and the terms "general partner" "limited partner" and "majority in interest of the limited partners" shall have the meanings assigned to such terms in Article 8-A of the partnership law; and the term "partnership" shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Article 2 of the partnership law. See N.Y. Limited Liability Company Law 1006
• merger: means a procedure in which two or more limited liability companies or other business entities merge into a single limited liability company or other business entity that shall be one of the constituent limited liability companies or other business entities, and "consolidation" means a procedure in which two or more limited liability companies or other business entities consolidate into a single limited liability company or other business entity that shall be a new limited liability company or other business entity to be formed pursuant to the consolidation. See N.Y. Limited Liability Company Law 1001
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Notice of violation: means a notice of violation as defined in subdivision nine of section two hundred thirty-seven of this article, but shall not be deemed to include a notice of liability issued pursuant to authorization set forth in articles ten, twenty-four, twenty-nine and thirty of this chapter, § 2985 of the public authorities law and sections sixteen-a, sixteen-b and sixteen-c of chapter seven hundred seventy-four of the laws of nineteen hundred fifty to impose monetary liability on the owner of a vehicle for failure of an operator thereof: to comply with traffic-control indications in violation of subdivision (d) of section eleven hundred eleven of this chapter through the installation and operation of traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring systems, in accordance with article twenty-four of this chapter; or to comply with certain posted maximum speed limits in violation of subdivision (b), (c), (d), (f) or (g) of section eleven hundred eighty of this chapter through the installation and operation of photo speed violation monitoring systems, in accordance with article thirty of this chapter; or to comply with bus lane restrictions as defined by article twenty-four of this chapter through the installation and operation of bus lane photo devices, in accordance with article twenty-four of this chapter; or to comply with toll collection regulations of certain public authorities through the installation and operation of photo-monitoring systems, in accordance with the provisions of § 2985 of the public authorities law and sections sixteen-a, sixteen-b and sixteen-c of chapter seven hundred seventy-four of the laws of nineteen hundred fifty; or to stop for a school bus displaying a red visual signal in violation of section eleven hundred seventy-four of this chapter through the installation and operation of school bus photo violation monitoring systems, in accordance with article twenty-nine of this chapter, or to comply with certain posted maximum speed limits in violation of subdivision (b), (d), (f) or (g) of section eleven hundred eighty of this chapter within a highway construction or maintenance work area through the installation and operation of photo speed violation monitoring systems, in accordance with article thirty of this chapter; or to comply with gross vehicle weight and/or axle weight restrictions in violation of section three hundred eighty-five of this chapter and the rules of the department of transportation of the city of New York through the installation and operation of weigh in motion violation monitoring systems, in accordance with article ten of this chapter. See N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law 239
• 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.
• Operator: means any person, corporation, firm, partnership, agency, association, organization or lessee that uses or operates a vehicle with or without the permission of the owner, and an owner who operates his own vehicle. See N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law 239
• Owner: means any person, corporation, partnership, firm, agency, association, lessor, or organization who at the time of the issuance of a notice of violation in any city in which a vehicle is operated:
  
  (1) is the beneficial or equitable owner of such vehicle; or
  
  (2) has title to such vehicle; or
  
  (3) is the registrant or co-registrant of such vehicle which is registered with the department of motor vehicles of this state or any other state, territory, district, province, nation or other jurisdiction; or
  
  (4) uses such vehicle in its vehicle renting and/or leasing business; or
  
  (5) is an owner of such vehicle as defined by section one hundred twenty-eight of this chapter or subdivision (a) of section twenty-one hundred one of this chapter. See N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law 239
• 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.
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• 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.
• Primary filing: means the initial filing of registration plate numbers by a lessor prior to the commencement of each fiscal year. See N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law 239
• Profession: includes any practice as an attorney and counselor-at-law, or as a licensed physician, and those professions designated in title eight of the education law. See N.Y. Limited Liability Company Law 1201
• Professional: means an individual duly authorized to practice a profession, a professional service corporation, a professional service limited liability company, a foreign professional service limited liability company, a registered limited liability partnership, a foreign limited liability partnership, a foreign professional service corporation or a professional partnership. See N.Y. Limited Liability Company Law 1201
• Professional partnership: means (1) a partnership without limited partners each of whose partners is a professional authorized by law to render a professional service within this state, (2) a partnership without limited partners each of whose partners is a professional, at least one of whom is authorized by law to render a professional service within this state or (3) a partnership without limited partners authorized by, or holding a license, certificate, registration or permit issued by the licensing authority pursuant to the education law to render a professional service within this state. See N.Y. Limited Liability Company Law 1201
• Professional service: means any type of service to the public that may be lawfully rendered by a member of a profession within the purview of his or her profession. See N.Y. Limited Liability Company Law 1201
• Professional service corporation: means (i) a corporation organized under Article 15 of the business corporation law and (ii) any other corporation organized under the business corporation law or under any other predecessor statute, which is authorized by, or holds a license, certificate, registration or permit issued by, the licensing authority pursuant to the education law to render professional services within this state. See N.Y. Limited Liability Company Law 1201
• Professional service limited liability company: means a limited liability company organized under this article. See N.Y. Limited Liability Company Law 1201
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• 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.
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Subpoena duces tecum: A command to a witness to produce documents.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• 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.
• 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}
• Usury: Charging an illegally high interest rate on a loan. ^{Source: OCC}
• Vehicle: means a vehicle as defined in section one hundred fifty-nine of this chapter. See N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law 239