Terms Used In South Carolina Code > Title 58 > Chapter 11 - Radio Common Carriers

• 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.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the 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.
• commission: means the Public Service Commission of the State of South Carolina. See South Carolina Code 58-11-10
• commissioner: means one of the members of the Public Service Commission. See South Carolina Code 58-11-10
• 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.
• communication service: shall mean a service to transmit audio intelligence by means of a modulated radio frequency signal and shall not include telephone answering services. See South Carolina Code 58-11-10
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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.
• corporation: includes all bodies corporate, joint stock companies, or associations, domestic or foreign, their lessees, assignees, trustees, receivers or other successors in interest, having any of the powers or privileges of corporations not possessed by individuals or partnerships. See South Carolina Code 58-11-10
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• 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.
• Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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}
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• intelligence: means the transfer of information either one way, or two way, by tone, data bit, voice, or other means as may be used to convey information to a person, persons, or machine. See South Carolina Code 58-11-10
• 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.
• 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}
• 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.
• 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: includes all individuals, partnerships or associations other than corporations. See South Carolina Code 58-11-10
• 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.
• public: means the public generally, or any limited portion of the public, including a person or corporation. See South Carolina Code 58-11-10
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• radio common carrier: includes persons and corporations, their lessees, assignees, trustees, receivers, or other successors in interest now or hereafter owning or operating in this State equipment or facilities for the transmission of intelligence by a modulated radio frequency signal, for compensation to the public, including all things incident thereto and related to the operation of radio transmission, but shall not include telephone utilities or services regulated by Articles 1 through 13 of Chapter 9 of Title 58 of the 1976 Code. See South Carolina Code 58-11-10
• rate: means and includes every compensation, charge, toll, rental and classification, or any of them, demanded, observed, charged or collected by any carrier for any communications service offered by it to the public, and any rules, regulations, practices or contracts affecting any such compensation, charge, toll, rental or classification. See South Carolina Code 58-11-10
• regulatory staff: means the executive director or the executive director and the employees of the Office of Regulatory Staff. See South Carolina Code 58-11-10
• securities: means and includes stock, stock certificates, bonds, notes, debentures, or other evidences of indebtedness, and any assumption or guaranty thereof. See South Carolina Code 58-11-10
• service area: shall include that geographical area covered by a radio common carrier system by county unless otherwise specified by the Public Service Commission. See South Carolina Code 58-11-10
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.