Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes > Chapter 7B > Article 3 - Screening of Abuse and Neglect Complaints

• 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.
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• 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.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• 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.
• begin to construct: includes any clearing of land, excavation, or other action that would adversely affect the natural environment of the route of a transmission line; but that term does not include land surveys, boring to ascertain geological conditions, or similar preliminary work undertaken to determine the suitability of proposed routes for a transmission line that results in temporary changes to the land. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-100
• Broadband service: means any service that consists of or includes a high-speed access capability to transmit at a rate of not less than 200 kilobits per second in either the upstream or downstream direction and either (i) is used to provide access to the Internet, or (ii) provides computer processing, information storage, information content, or protocol conversion, including any service applications or information service provided over such high-speed access service. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• Business: means any lawful trade, investment, or other purpose or activity, whether or not the trade, investment, purpose, or activity is carried on for profit. See North Carolina General Statutes 59-102
• Business entity: means a domestic corporation (including a professional corporation as defined in N. See North Carolina General Statutes 59-102
• Certificate: means a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued by the Commission to a person or public utility or a certificate of authority issued by the Commission to a bus company. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• Certificate of limited partnership: means the certificate referred to in N. See North Carolina General Statutes 59-102
• Certified mail: means such mail only when a return receipt is requested. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• Commission: means the North Carolina Utilities Commission. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• Common carrier: means any person, other than a carrier by rail, which holds itself out to the general public to engage in transportation of persons or household goods for compensation, including transportation by bus, truck, boat or other conveyance, except as exempted in N. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• Common carrier by motor vehicle: means any person which holds itself out to the general public to engage in the transportation by motor vehicle in intrastate commerce of persons or household goods or any class or classes thereof for compensation, whether over regular or irregular routes, or in charter operations, except as exempted in N. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• Competing local provider: means any person applying for a certificate to provide local exchange or exchange access services in competition with a local exchange company. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Conformed copy: shall include a photostatic or other photographic copy of the original document. See North Carolina General Statutes 59-102
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Contribution: means any cash, property, services rendered, or a promissory note or other binding obligation to contribute cash or property or to perform services, which a partner contributes to a limited partnership in his capacity as a partner. See North Carolina General Statutes 59-102
• 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.
• county: means any one of the counties listed in N. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-100
• 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.
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Domestic nonprofit corporation: means a corporation as defined in N. See North Carolina General Statutes 59-102
• 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}
• Event of withdrawal of a general partner: means an event that causes a person to cease to be a general partner as provided in N. See North Carolina General Statutes 59-102
• 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
• 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.
• Fixed route: means the specific highway or highways over which a bus company is authorized to operate between fixed termini. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
• 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}
• Foreign commerce: means commerce between any place in the United States and any place in a foreign country, or between places in the United States through any foreign country. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• Foreign limited partnership: means a partnership formed under the laws of any state, province, country, or other jurisdiction other than this State and having as partners one or more general partners and one or more limited partners, and includes, for all purposes of the laws of the State of North Carolina, a limited liability limited partnership. See North Carolina General Statutes 59-102
• Foreign nonprofit corporation: means a foreign corporation as defined in N. See North Carolina General Statutes 59-102
• Franchise: means the grant of authority by the Commission to any person to engage in business as a public utility, whether or not exclusive or shared with others or restricted as to terms and conditions and whether described by area or territory or not, and includes certificates, and all other forms of licenses or orders and decisions granting such authority. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• General partner: means a person who has been admitted to a limited partnership as a general partner in accordance with the partnership agreement and named in the certificate of limited partnership as a general partner. See North Carolina General Statutes 59-102
• 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.
• Highway: means any road or street in this State used by the public or dedicated or appropriated to public use. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• Impeachment: (1) The process of calling something into question, as in "impeaching the testimony of a witness." (2) The constitutional process whereby the House of Representatives may "impeach" (accuse of misconduct) high officers of the federal government for trial in the Senate.
• in writing: may be construed to include printing, engraving, lithographing, and any other mode of representing words and letters: Provided, that in all cases where a written signature is required by law, the same shall be in a proper handwriting, or in a proper mark. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
• Interstate commerce: means commerce between any place in a state and any place in another state or between places in the same state through another state. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• Intrastate commerce: means commerce between points and over a route or within a territory wholly within this State, which commerce is not a part of a prior or subsequent movement to or from points outside of this State in interstate or foreign commerce, and includes all transportation within this State for compensation in interstate or foreign commerce which has been exempted by Congress from federal regulation. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• Joint resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
• 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.
• land: means any real estate or any estate or interest in real estate, including water and riparian rights, regardless of the use to which it is devoted. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-100
• 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}
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Limited partner: means a person who has been admitted to a limited partnership as a limited partner in accordance with the partnership agreement. See North Carolina General Statutes 59-102
• lines: means distribution lines and transmission lines collectively. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-100
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Local exchange company: means a person holding, on January 1, 1995, a certificate to provide local exchange services or exchange access services. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• month: shall be construed to mean a calendar month, unless otherwise expressed; and the word "year" a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed; and the word "year" alone shall be equivalent to the expression "year of our Lord. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
• Motor carrier: means a common carrier by motor vehicle. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• Motor vehicle: means any vehicle, machine, tractor, semi-trailer, or any combination thereof, which is propelled or drawn by mechanical power and used upon the highways within the State. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• Municipality: means any incorporated community, whether designated in its charter as a city, town, or village. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• municipality: means any incorporated community, whether designated as a city, town, or village and any area over which it exercises any of the powers granted by Chapter 160D of the N. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-100
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• oath: shall be construed to include "affirmation" in all cases where by law an affirmation may be substituted for an oath, and in like cases the word "sworn" shall be construed to include the word "affirmed. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
• 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.
• Oral argument: An opportunity for lawyers to summarize their position before the court and also to answer the judges' questions.
• Outlays: Outlays are payments made (generally through the issuance of checks or disbursement of cash) to liquidate obligations. Outlays during a fiscal year may be for payment of obligations incurred in prior years or in the same year.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Panel: means a panel of three commissioners, a division of the Utilities Commission authorized for the purpose of carrying out certain functions of the Commission. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• Partner: means a limited or general partner. See North Carolina General Statutes 59-102
• 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.
• partnership agreement: includes any written or oral agreement, whether or not the agreement is set forth in a document referred to by the partners as a "partnership agreement" and includes any amendment agreed upon by the partners unanimously or in accordance with the terms of the agreement. See North Carolina General Statutes 59-102
• Partnership interest: means a partner's share of the allocations of income, gain, loss, deduction or credit of a limited partnership and the right to receive distributions of cash or other partnership assets. See North Carolina General Statutes 59-102
• Person: means a corporation, individual, copartnership, company, association, or any combination of individuals or organizations doing business as a unit, and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee, lessee, or personal representative thereof. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• Person: means a natural person, domestic or foreign partnership, domestic or foreign limited partnership, domestic or foreign limited liability company, trust, estate, unincorporated association, domestic or foreign corporation, domestic or foreign nonprofit corporation, or another entity. See North Carolina General Statutes 59-102
• 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.
• President pro tempore: A constitutionally recognized officer of the Senate who presides over the chamber in the absence of the Vice President. The President Pro Tempore (or, "president for a time") is elected by the Senate and is, by custom, the Senator of the majority party with the longest record of continuous service.
• Principal office: means the office (in or out of this State) where the principal executive offices of a limited liability limited partnership or foreign limited partnership are located, in the case of a limited liability limited partnership as designated in its most recent annual report filed with the Secretary of State or, if no annual report has yet been filed, in its application for registration as a limited liability limited partnership, or in the case of a foreign limited partnership as most recently designated in its application for registration as a foreign limited partnership or a certificate filed pursuant to N. See North Carolina General Statutes 59-102
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• property: shall include all property, both real and personal. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• public utility: except as otherwise expressly provided in this Chapter, shall not include the following:

  1. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3

• public utility: means any of the following:

  a. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-100

• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Rate: means every compensation, charge, fare, tariff, schedule, toll, rental and classification, or any of them, demanded, observed, charged or collected by any public utility, for any service product or commodity offered by it to the public, and any rules, regulations, practices or contracts affecting any such compensation, charge, fare, tariff, schedule, toll, rental or classification. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• 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.
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Route: means the course or way which is traveled; the road or highway over which motor vehicles operate. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• seal: shall be construed to include an impression of such official seal, made upon the paper alone, as well as an impression made by means of a wafer or of wax affixed thereto. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
• Securities: means stock, stock certificates, bonds, notes, debentures, or other evidences of ownership or of indebtedness, and any assumption or guaranty thereof. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• Service: means any service furnished by a public utility, including any commodity furnished as a part of such service and any ancillary service or facility used in connection with such service. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• 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.
• Small power producer: means a person or corporation owning or operating an electrical power production facility that qualifies as a "small power production facility" under 16 U. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• State: means the State of North Carolina; "state" means any state. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• State: means a state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See North Carolina General Statutes 59-102
• state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Town: means any unincorporated community or collection of people having a geographical name by which it may be generally known and is so generally designated. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-3
• 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.
• transmission line: means an electric line designed with a capacity of at least 161 kilovolts. See North Carolina General Statutes 62-100
• 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}
• United States: shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3