Terms Used In South Carolina Code > Title 49 > Chapter 17 > Article 9 - Construction of Improvements

• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Consumer: means the purchaser or lessor, other than for purposes of resale, of a motor vehicle normally used for personal, family, or household purposes and subject to the manufacturer's express warranty, and any other person entitled by the warranty to enforce the obligations of the warranty. See South Carolina Code 56-28-10
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Manufacturer: means any person, resident, or nonresident, who manufactures or assembles or imports or distributes new motor vehicles which are to be sold in the State. See South Carolina Code 56-28-10
• Motor vehicle: means :
  
  (a) a private passenger motor vehicle, as classified by § 56-3-630, but excluding the living portion of recreational vehicles and off-road vehicles, which is sold and registered in this State; and
  
  (b) a motorcycle as defined in § 56-1-10(8), including a motorcycle three-wheel vehicle as defined in § 56-1-10(18), which is sold and registered in this State. See South Carolina Code 56-28-10
• new motor vehicle: means a motor vehicle which has been sold to a new motor vehicle dealer by a manufacturer and which has not been used for other than demonstration purposes and on which the original title has not been issued from the new motor vehicle dealer. See South Carolina Code 56-28-10
• Nonconformity: means a defect or condition that substantially impairs the use, value, or safety of a motor vehicle, but does not include a defect or condition that results from an accident, modification, or alteration of the motor vehicle by persons other than the manufacturer or its authorized service agent. See South Carolina Code 56-28-10
• 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.
• Person: means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, or any other business entity. See South Carolina Code 56-27-10
• 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.
• 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.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• warranty: means the written warranty, so labeled, of the manufacturer of a new motor vehicle, including any terms or conditions precedent to the enforcement of obligations under that warranty. See South Carolina Code 56-28-10