Terms Used In South Carolina Code > Title 40 > Chapter 11 - Contractors

• Action: means a civil action in any forum, including an arbitration proceeding, for damages or indemnity asserting a claim for damages, injury, or loss arising out of an alleged defect, act, or omission relating to the design, construction, or condition of the alteration, modification, renovation, or repair of a nonresidential building or structure upon real estate including, but not limited to, utility systems, the boring, and equipping of wells, the preparation of plans, specification, and design drawings, and the work of making the real estate suitable as a site for the building or structure, surveying and staking, the grading, bulldozing, leveling, excavating, and filling of land including the furnishing of fill soil, the grading and paving of curbs and sidewalks and all asphalt paving, the construction of ditches and other drainage facilities, the laying of pipes and conduits for water, gas, electric, sewage, and drainage purposes, and the disposal of any construction and demolition debris, as defined in § 44-96-40(6) including final disposal by a construction and demolition landfill of nonresidential property. See South Carolina Code 40-11-510
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Authorized health care provider: means advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants licensed in South Carolina and authorized to provide specific treatments, care, or services pursuant to their respective practice acts in Title 40. See South Carolina Code 44-22-10
• 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 of directors: means the board of directors of the corporation created pursuant to this chapter. See South Carolina Code 33-37-10
• Child: means a person under the age of eighteen years. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• Child in need of judicial admission: means a child who is in need of treatment and for whom treatment can be obtained only through an involuntary judicial admission. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• Child in need of treatment: means a child in need of mental health treatment who manifests a substantial disorder of cognitive or emotional processes, which lessens or impairs to a marked degree that child's capacity either to develop or to exercise age appropriate or age adequate behavior. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• Claimant: means a person or entity who asserts a claim against a contractor, subcontractor, supplier, or design professional concerning an alleged defect, act, or omission relating to the design, construction, or condition of the alteration, modification, renovation, or repair of a nonresidential building or structure upon real estate including, but not limited to, utility systems, the boring, and equipping of wells, the preparation of plans, specifications, and design drawings and the work of making real estate suitable as a site for building or structure, surveying and staking, the grading, bulldozing, leveling, excavation, and filling of land including the furnishing of fill soil, the grading and paving of curbs and sidewalks and all asphalt paving, the construction of ditches and other drainage facilities, the laying of pipes and conduits for water, gas, electric, sewage, and drainage purposes, and the disposal of any construction and demolition debris, as defined in § 44-96-40(6), including final disposal by a construction and demolition landfill of nonresidential property. See South Carolina Code 40-11-510
• Client: means a person who is determined by the South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs to have intellectual disability or a related disability and is receiving services or is an infant at risk of having intellectual disability or a related disability and is receiving services. See South Carolina Code 44-26-10
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Construction defect: means a deficiency in or a deficiency arising out of the design, specifications, surveying, planning, supervision, or construction of nonresidential improvements that results from any of the following:
  
  (a) defective material, products, or components used in the construction of nonresidential improvements;
  
  (b) failure to substantially comply with applicable building codes in effect at the time of construction of nonresidential improvements;
  
  (c) failure of the design of nonresidential improvements to meet the applicable professional standards of care and applicable building codes at the time of governmental approval of the design of nonresidential improvements;
  
  (d) failure to construct nonresidential improvements in accordance with accepted trade standards for good and workmanlike construction at the time of construction; or
  
  (e) failure to comply with applicable building codes. See South Carolina Code 40-11-510
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Contractor: means a person licensed or registered pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 11 of Title 40, who is engaged in the business of designing, developing, or constructing nonresidential properties. See South Carolina Code 40-11-510
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: means a South Carolina business development corporation created pursuant to this chapter. See South Carolina Code 33-37-10
• 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.
• Court: means probate court. See South Carolina Code 44-22-10
• Court: means the probate court unless otherwise specified. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• Court: means a probate court of appropriate jurisdiction unless specified otherwise. See South Carolina Code 44-26-10
• Crisis stabilization: means a short term placement to enable a child who has lost control to regain control in order to be returned to his previous placement or to an appropriate treatment facility or program. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Department: means the State Department of Mental Health. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• Department: means the South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs. See South Carolina Code 44-26-10
• Department: means the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation;
  
  (5) "Director" means the Director of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation or the director's official designee;
  
  (6) "Licensee" means a person granted an authorization to practice pursuant to this article and refers to a person holding a license, permit, certification, or registration granted pursuant to this article;
  
  (7) "Licensing act" means the individual statute or regulations, or both, of each regulated profession or occupation which include, but are not limited to, board governance, the qualifications and requirements for authorization to practice, prohibitions, and disciplinary procedures;
  
  (8) "Person" means an individual, partnership, or corporation;
  
  (9) "Profession" or "occupation" means a profession or occupation regulated or administered, or both, by the department pursuant to this article. See South Carolina Code 40-1-20
• Department: means the State Department of Mental Health. See South Carolina Code 44-22-10
• Design professional: means a person licensed or registered pursuant to the provisions of Title 40 as an architect, landscape architect, engineer, or surveyor. See South Carolina Code 40-11-510
• Diagnostic evaluation: means the systematic appraisal of a child's functional level in various domains such as educational, social, and psychological to determine the nature and extent of treatment or services which may be required to meet the needs of the child. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• Director: means the South Carolina Director of Disabilities and Special Needs. See South Carolina Code 44-26-10
• Director: means the Director of the Department of Mental Health. See South Carolina Code 44-22-10
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• Facility: means a residential setting operated, assisted, or contracted out by the department that provides twenty-four hour care and supervision. See South Carolina Code 44-26-10
• Facility: means a residential program operated by the department. See South Carolina Code 44-22-10
• 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.
• Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• 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.
• Habilitation: means the attempt to remedy the delayed learning process to develop maximum growth potential by the acquisition of self-help, language, personal, social, educational, vocational, and recreational skills. See South Carolina Code 44-26-10
• In-home intervention: means comprehensive, individualized in-home family services which are designed to intervene at times when there is a possibility that the child will have to be removed from the home to a more restrictive environment or to prepare a family for a child's transition back into the home. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• Intellectual disability: means significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period. See South Carolina Code 44-26-10
• Interdisciplinary team: means persons drawn from or representing the professional disciplines or service areas included in the individual habilitation plan. See South Carolina Code 44-26-10
• 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.
• Law enforcement officer: means a state, county, or city police officer, officer of the South Carolina Highway Patrol, sheriff, or deputy sheriff. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• 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.
• Major medical treatment: means a medical, surgical, or diagnostic intervention or procedure proposed for a person with intellectual disability or a related disability, where a general anesthetic is used or which involves a significant invasion of bodily integrity requiring an incision, producing substantial pain, discomfort, debilitation, or having a significant recovery period. See South Carolina Code 44-26-10
• 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.
• Nonresidential property: means any property, building, structure, or improvement to real property that is not a dwelling as defined in § 40-59-820. See South Carolina Code 40-11-510
• 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.
• Outpatient counseling: means a regularly scheduled goal-oriented intervention by a competent professional responsive to the needs of the child, for the purposes of assisting the child in solving problems related to educational, vocational, emotional, familial, and social issues through cognitive and affective modes. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• 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.
• Patient: means an individual undergoing treatment in the department; however, the term does not include a person committed to the department pursuant to Chapter 48 of Title 44. See South Carolina Code 44-22-10
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• 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.
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probate: Proving a will
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Psychiatric assessment and evaluation: means a systematic appraisal, in accordance with generally accepted medical practices, for the following purposes: specialized psychiatric review of physiological phenomena, psychiatric diagnostic evaluation, psychiatric therapeutic evaluative services, and assessment of the appropriateness of initiating or continuing the use of psychotropic medications in treatment of a child. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• 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: means personal service or delivery by certified mail to the last known address of the addressee. See South Carolina Code 40-11-510
• 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.
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• Subcontractor: means a contractor who performs work on behalf of another contractor in the construction of a nonresidential property who is licensed or registered pursuant to the provisions of Title 40. See South Carolina Code 40-11-510
• Supplier: means a person who provides materials, equipment, or other supplies for the construction of a nonresidential property. See South Carolina Code 40-11-510
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• 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.
• Treatment: means the attempted correction or facilitation of a mental illness or alcohol and drug abuse. See South Carolina Code 44-22-10
• Treatment team: means persons drawn from or representing the professional disciplines or service areas included in the development and implementation of a treatment plan. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• 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.
• Twenty-four hour emergency assessment: means diagnostic evaluation capabilities when necessary to determine a child's clinical status and needs. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.