Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes > Chapter 8 > Article 10 - Depositions

• Act: means the Workers' Compensation Act established in Article 1 of this Chapter. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-165
• adopted: means legal adoption prior to the time of the injury. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
• 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.
• 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.
• 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
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Association: means the North Carolina Self-Insurance Security Association established by N. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-130
• Association Aggregate Security System: means the security system established by the Association under N. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-130
• Association Aggregate Security System: means the security system established pursuant to N. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-165
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• authorized emergency worker: means an individual who has completed required emergency response training as required by the North Carolina Forest Service and who is available as needed by the North Carolina Forest Service for emergency activities, including immediate dispatch to wildfires, snow events, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, or other emergencies, and standby for initial attack on fires during periods of high fire danger. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
• Average weekly wages: shall mean the earnings of the injured employee in the employment in which the employee was working at the time of the injury during the period of 52 weeks immediately preceding the date of the injury, including the subsistence allowance paid to veteran trainees by the United States government, provided the amount of said allowance shall be reported monthly by said trainee to the trainee's employer, divided by 52; but if the injured employee lost more than seven consecutive calendar days at one or more times during such period, although not in the same week, then the earnings for the remainder of such 52 weeks shall be divided by the number of weeks remaining after the time so lost has been deducted. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
• 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.
• Board: means the Board of Directors of the Association established by N. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-130
• child: shall include a posthumous child, a child legally adopted prior to the injury of the employee, and a stepchild or acknowledged child born out of wedlock dependent upon the deceased, but does not include married children unless wholly dependent upon him. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
• 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.
• Commission: means the North Carolina Industrial Commission, to be created under the provisions of this Article. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
• Commissioner: means the North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-130
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Insurance. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-165
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• compensation: means the money allowance payable to an employee or to his dependents as provided for in this Article, and includes funeral benefits provided herein. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporate surety: means an insurance company authorized by the Commissioner to write surety business in this State. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-165
• 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.
• Covered claim: means an unpaid claim against an insolvent individual self-insurer or group self-insurer that relates to an injury that occurs while the individual self-insurer or group self-insurer is a member of the Association and that is compensable under this Chapter. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-130
• CPA: means a CPA who is in good standing with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and in all states in which the CPA is licensed to practice. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-165
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• 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.
• disability: means incapacity because of injury to earn the wages which the employee was receiving at the time of injury in the same or any other employment. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
• disablement: as used in this Article as applied to cases of asbestosis and silicosis means the event of becoming actually incapacitated because of asbestosis or silicosis to earn, in the same or any other employment, the wages which the employee was receiving at the time of his last injurious exposure to asbestosis or  silicosis; but in all other cases of occupational disease "disablement" shall be equivalent to "disability" as defined in N. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-54
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• employee: means every person engaged in an employment under any appointment or contract of hire or apprenticeship, express or implied, oral or written, including aliens, and also minors, whether lawfully or unlawfully employed, but excluding persons whose employment is both casual and not in the course of the trade, business, profession, or occupation of his employer, and as relating to those so employed by the State, the term "employee" shall include all officers and employees of the State, including such as are elected by the people, or by the General Assembly, or appointed by the Governor to serve on a per diem, part-time or fee basis, either with or without the confirmation of the Senate; as relating to municipal corporations and political subdivisions of the State, the term "employee" shall include all officers and employees thereof, including such as are elected by the people. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
• employer: means the State and all political subdivisions thereof, all public and quasi-public corporations therein, every person carrying on any employment, and the legal representative of a deceased person or the receiver or trustee of any person. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
• employment: includes employment by the State and all political subdivisions thereof, and all public and quasi-public corporations therein and all private employments in which three or more employees are regularly employed in the same business or establishment or in which one or more employees are employed in activities which involve the use or presence of radiation, except agriculture and domestic services, unless 10 or more full-time nonseasonal agricultural workers are regularly employed by the employer and an individual sawmill and logging operator with less than 10 employees, who saws and logs less than 60 days in any six consecutive months and whose principal business is unrelated to sawmilling or logging. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
• 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}
• 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.
• Financial statement: means a financial statement as defined by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States or a financial statement prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-165
• 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.
• 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
• Foreign registered public accounting firm: means a public accounting firm that is organized and operates under the laws of a non-United States jurisdiction, government, or political subdivision and is registered and in good standing with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and authorized by the Board to prepare or issue any audit report with respect to any issuer. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-165
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Fund: means the North Carolina Self-Insurance Security Fund established by N. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-130
• Grandchild: means a child, as defined in this subdivision, of a child, as defined in this subdivision. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
• Group self-insurer: means a group self-insurer licensed by the Commissioner under Part 1, Article 47 of Chapter 58 of the N. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-130
• Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Guarantor: means a person within the same holding company system who controls the applicant, whose financial statement is used by the applicant to become a self-insurer under the Act, and who has guaranteed the payment of the self-insurer's liability under the Act. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-165
• 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.
• Habeas corpus: A writ that is usually used to bring a prisoner before the court to determine the legality of his imprisonment. It may also be used to bring a person in custody before the court to give testimony, or to be prosecuted.
• Hazardous financial condition: means that, based on its present or reasonably anticipated financial condition, a self-insurer or guarantor is insolvent or, although not yet financially impaired or insolvent, is unlikely to be able to meet its obligations with respect to known claims and reasonably anticipated claims or to pay other obligations in the normal course of business. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-165
• health care provider: means physician, hospital, pharmacy, chiropractor, nurse, dentist, podiatrist, physical therapist, rehabilitation specialist, psychologist, and any other person providing medical care pursuant to this Article. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
• Holding company system: means an entity comprising two or more affiliated persons. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-165
• 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
• 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 self-insurer: means an individual employer licensed by the Commissioner under Article 5 of this Chapter. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-130
• injury by accident: shall be construed to include any disabling physical injury to the back arising out of and causally related to such incident. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
• insurer: means any person or fund authorized under N. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
• Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
• Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
• 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.
• 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.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• managed care organization: means a preferred provider organization or a health maintenance organization regulated under Chapter 58 of the N. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
• Management: means those persons who are authorized to direct or control the operations of a self-insurer. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-165
• medical compensation: means medical, surgical, hospital, nursing, and rehabilitative services, including, but not limited to, attendant care services prescribed by a health care provider authorized by the employer or subsequently by the Commission, vocational rehabilitation, and medicines, sick travel, and other treatment, including medical and surgical supplies, as may reasonably be required to effect a cure or give relief and for such additional time as, in the judgment of the Commission, will tend to lessen the period of disability; and any original artificial members as may reasonably be necessary at the end of the healing period and the replacement of such artificial members when reasonably necessitated by ordinary use or medical circumstances. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
• member: means an individual self-insurer or group self-insurer that is required to be a member of the Association under this Article or Part 1, Article 47 of Chapter 58 of the N. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-130
• 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
• 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 a person or entity who owns, manages, controls, or directs, or who has operational responsibility for a roller skating rink. See North Carolina General Statutes 99E-10
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• parent: includes stepparents and parents by adoption, parents-in-law, and any person who for more than three years prior to the death of the deceased employee stood in the place of a parent to him, if dependent on the injured employee. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
• 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: means individual, partnership, association or corporation. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
• Person: means an individual, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint stock company, trust, unincorporated organization, or any similar entity or any combination of the foregoing acting in concert. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-165
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Plan: means the Plan of Operation authorized by N. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-130
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Qualified actuary: means a member in good standing of the Casualty Actuarial Society or a member in good standing of the American Academy of Actuaries, who has been approved as qualified for signing casualty loss reserve opinions by the Casualty Practice Council of the American Academy of Actuaries, and is in compliance with N. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-165
• 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.
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Roller skater: includes any individual in the roller skating rink who is an invitee, whether or not this individual pays consideration. See North Carolina General Statutes 99E-10
• Roller skating rink: means a building, facility, or premises that provide an area specifically designed to be used by the public for recreational or competitive roller skating. See North Carolina General Statutes 99E-10
• Self-insurer: means an individual self-insurer as defined by N. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-165
• Servicing facility: means those persons delegated by the Board to settle or compromise claims and to expend Fund assets to pay claims. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-130
• 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.
• sister: include stepbrothers and stepsisters, half brothers and half sisters, and brothers and sisters by adoption, but does not include married brothers nor married sisters unless wholly dependent on the employee. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
• Spectator: means an individual who is present in a roller skating rink only for the purpose of observing recreational or competitive roller skating. See North Carolina General Statutes 99E-10
• 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 of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Subpoena duces tecum: A command to a witness to produce documents.
• suitable employment: means employment offered to the employee or, if prohibited by the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• United States: shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• widow: includes only the decedent's wife living with or dependent for support upon him at the time of his death; or living apart for justifiable cause or by reason of his desertion at such time. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
• widower: includes only the decedent's husband living with or dependent for support upon her at the time of her death or living apart for justifiable cause or by reason of her desertion at such time. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.