Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws > Chapter 46-18 - Damages from Milldams

• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• 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.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• in writing: include printing, engraving, lithographing, and photo-lithographing, and all other representations of words in letters of the usual form. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-16
• person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• 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.
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• real estate: may be construed to include lands, tenements, and hereditaments and rights thereto and interests therein. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-10
• town: may be construed to include city; the words "town council" include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.