Terms Used In Tennessee Code > Title 29 > Chapter 34 > Part 7 - Asbestos Claims Priorities Act

• accident: includes any collision or crash, regardless of the degree of care exercised by the drivers involved or whether it was the result of criminal conduct. See Tennessee Code 55-10-101
• ADS: means technology installed on a motor vehicle that has the capability to drive the vehicle on which the technology is installed in high or full automation mode, without any supervision by a human operator, with specific driving mode performance by the automated driving system of all aspects of the dynamic driving task that can be managed by a human driver, including the ability to automatically bring the motor vehicle into a minimal risk condition in the event of a critical vehicle or system failure or other emergency event. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• ADS-operated vehicle: means a vehicle equipped with an automated driving system. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• 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.
• All-terrain vehicle: means either:
  (A) A motorized nonhighway tire vehicle with no less than four (4) nonhighway tires, but no more than six (6) nonhighway tires, that is limited in total dry weight to less than two thousand five hundred pounds (2,500 lbs. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment: means the American Medical Association's Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment in effect at the time of the performance of any examination or test on the exposed person required under this part. See Tennessee Code 29-34-702
• 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.
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Asbestosis: means bilateral diffuse interstitial fibrosis of the lungs caused by inhalation of asbestos fibers. See Tennessee Code 29-34-702
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Authorized emergency vehicle: means vehicles of the fire department, fire patrol, police vehicles or bicycles and emergency vehicles that are designated or authorized by the commissioner or the chief of police of an incorporated city, and vehicles operated by commissioned members of the Tennessee bureau of investigation when on official business. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
• Bicycle: means every device propelled by human power upon which any person may ride, having two (2) tandem wheels, either of which is more than twenty inches (20") in diameter. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Bicycle: means every device propelled by human power upon which any person may ride, having two (2) tandem wheels, either of which is more than twenty inches (20") in diameter. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Bus: means every motor vehicle designed for carrying more than ten (10) passengers and used for the transportation of persons, and every motor vehicle, other than a taxicab, designed and used for the transportation of persons for compensation. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Chauffeur: means every person who is employed by another for the principal purpose of driving a motor vehicle and every person who drives a school bus transporting school children or any motor vehicle when in use for the transportation of persons or property for compensation. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Chest x-ray: means chest films taken in accordance with all applicable state and federal regulatory standards and taken in the posterior-anterior view. See Tennessee Code 29-34-702
• Class II off-highway vehicle: means any off-highway vehicle that is designed to be primarily used for recreational purposes, that has a nonstraddle seating capable of holding at least two (2) but no more than four (4) passengers and a steering wheel, and that is commonly referred to as a sand buggy, dune buggy, rock crawler, or sand rail. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Code: includes the Tennessee Code and all amendments and revisions to the code and all additions and supplements to the code. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of safety. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• 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.
• Dealer: means every person engaged in the business of buying, selling or exchanging vehicles of a type required to be registered and who has an established place of business for that purpose in this state. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the department of revenue. See Tennessee Code 55-1-111
• Department: means the department of safety. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• DLCO: means diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide, which is the measurement of carbon monoxide transfer from inspired gas to pulmonary capillary blood. See Tennessee Code 29-34-702
• Driver: means :
  (A) For purposes of a conventionally operated vehicle, every person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Driver: means :
  (A) For purposes of a conventionally operated vehicle, every person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Dynamic driving task: means all of the real-time operational and tactical functions required to operate a vehicle in on-road traffic. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• 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.
• Explosives: means any chemical compound or mechanical mixture that is commonly used or intended for the purpose of producing an explosion and that contains any oxidizing and combustive units or other ingredients in those proportions, quantities or packing that an ignition by fire, by friction, by concussion, by percussion or by detonator of any part of the compound or mixture may cause such a sudden generation of highly heated gases that the resultant gaseous pressures are capable of producing destructive effects on contiguous objects or of destroying life or limb. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Exposed person: means a person whose exposure to asbestos or to asbestos-containing products is the basis for an asbestos action. See Tennessee Code 29-34-702
• farm products: means forage and sod crops. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Farm tractor: means every motor vehicle designed and used primarily as a farm implement for drawing plows, mowing machines and other implements of husbandry. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• 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.
• FVC: means the maximal volume of air expired with maximum effort from a position of full inspiration. See Tennessee Code 29-34-702
• Golf cart: means a motor vehicle that is designed and manufactured for operation on a golf course for sporting or recreational purposes and equipped with safety belts installed for use in the left front and right front seats and that is not capable of exceeding speeds of twenty miles per hour (20 mph). See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Gross weight: means the weight of a vehicle without load plus the weight of any load thereon. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• 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.
• Highway: means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way when any part thereto is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Highway: means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way when any part thereto is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Implement of husbandry: means every vehicle that is designed for agricultural purposes and exclusively used by the owner thereof in the conduct of the owner's agricultural operations. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• 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.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Livestock: means all equine as well as animals that are being raised primarily for use as food or fiber for human utilization or consumption including, but not limited to, cattle, sheep, swine, goats, and poultry. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Manufacturer: means every person engaged in the business of constructing or assembling vehicles of a type required to be registered at an established place of business in this state. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Manufacturer: means every person engaged in the business of constructing or assembling vehicles of a type required to be registered at an established place of business in this state. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Minimal risk condition: means a low-risk operating mode in which an ADS-operated vehicle when the ADS is engaged achieves a reasonably safe state upon experiencing a failure of the vehicle's ADS that renders the vehicle unable to perform the entire dynamic driving task. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Minor: means any person who has not attained eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Month: means a calendar month. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Motor-driven cycle: means every motorcycle, including every motor scooter, with a motor that produces no more than five (5) brake horsepower, or with a motor with a cylinder capacity not exceeding one hundred twenty-five cubic centimeters (125cc). See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• 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.
• Nonmalignant condition: means any condition that can be caused by asbestos other than a diagnosed cancer. See Tennessee Code 29-34-702
• 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) For purposes of a conventionally operated vehicle, every person, other than a chauffeur, who drives or is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle upon a highway or who is exercising control over or steering a vehicle being towed by a motor vehicle. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Operator: means :
  (A) For purposes of a conventionally operated vehicle, every person, other than a chauffeur, who drives or is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle upon a highway or who is exercising control over or steering a vehicle being towed by a motor vehicle. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Owner: means a person who holds the legal title of a vehicle, or in the event a vehicle is the subject of an agreement for the conditional sale or lease thereof, with the right of purchase upon performance of the conditions stated in the agreement and with an immediate right of possession vested in the conditional vendee or lessee, or in the event a mortgagor of a vehicle is entitled to possession, then the conditional vendee or lessee or mortgagor shall be deemed the owner for the purpose of this chapter and chapter 10, parts 1-5 of this title. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Owner: means a person who holds the legal title of a vehicle, or in the event a vehicle is the subject of an agreement for the conditional sale or lease thereof, with the right of purchase upon performance of the conditions stated in the agreement and with an immediate right of possession vested in the conditional vendee or lessee, or in the event a mortgagor of a vehicle is entitled to possession, then the conditional vendee or lessee or mortgagor shall be deemed the owner for the purpose of this chapter and chapter 10, parts 1-5 of this title. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Pedestrian area: includes a sidewalk, crosswalk, school crosswalk, school crossing zone, or safety zone. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Person: means a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, corporation, or an engaged ADS. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Person: means a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, corporation, or an engaged ADS. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Personal delivery device: means a device that:
  (A) Is solely powered by an electric motor. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Platoon: means a group of individual motor vehicles that are traveling in a unified manner at electronically coordinated speeds. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• 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.
• Pole trailer: means every vehicle without motive power designed to be driven by another vehicle and attached to the towing vehicle by means of a reach or pole, or by being boomed or otherwise secured to the towing vehicle, and ordinarily used for transporting long or irregularly shaped loads, such as poles, pipes or structural members capable, generally, of sustaining themselves as beams between the supporting connections. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Predicted lower limit of normal: means the test value that is the calculated standard convention lying at the fifth percentile, below the upper ninety-five percent (95%) of the reference population, based on age, height, and gender, according to the recommendations by the American Thoracic Society and as referenced in the applicable AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, primarily National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) predicted values, or as amended. See Tennessee Code 29-34-702
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Qualified physician: means a board-certified internist, pathologist, pulmonary specialist, or specialist in occupational and environmental medicine, as may be appropriate to the actual diagnostic specialty in question, who:
  (A) Has conducted a physical examination of the exposed person and has taken or has directed to be taken under the physician's supervision, direction and control, a detailed occupational, exposure, medical, smoking, and social history from the exposed person, or the physician has reviewed the pathology material and has taken or has directed to be taken under the physician's supervision, direction and control, a detailed history from the person most knowledgeable about the information forming the basis of the asbestos action. See Tennessee Code 29-34-702
• Radiological evidence of diffuse bilateral pleural thickening: means a quality 1 or 2 chest x-ray under the ILO system, showing diffuse bilateral pleural thickening of at least b2 on the ILO scale and blunting of at least one (1) costophrenic angle as classified by a certified B-reader. See Tennessee Code 29-34-702
• Railroad: means a carrier of persons or property upon cars, other than streetcars, operated upon stationary rails. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Residential district: means the territory contiguous to and including a highway not comprising a business district when the property on the highway for a distance of three hundred feet (300') or more is in the main improved with residences. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Right-of-way: means the privilege of the immediate use of the roadway. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Road: includes public bridges and may be held equivalent to the words "county way" "county road" or "state road". See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Roadway: means that portion of a highway improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the berm or shoulder. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Roadway: means that portion of a highway improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the berm or shoulder. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• School bus: means every motor vehicle owned by a public or governmental agency and operated for the transportation of children to or from school or privately owned and operated for compensation for the transportation of children to or from school. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Semitrailer: means every vehicle with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer, designed for carrying persons or property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and so constructed that some part of its weight and that of its load rests upon or is carried by another vehicle. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• 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.
• Sidewalk: means that portion of a street between the curb lines, or the lateral lines of a roadway, and the adjacent property lines, intended for use of pedestrians. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• signed: includes a mark, the name being written near the mark and witnessed, or any other symbol or methodology executed or adopted by a party with intention to authenticate a writing or record, regardless of being witnessed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Spirometry: means a test of air capacity of the lung through a spirometer to measure the volume of air inspired and expired. See Tennessee Code 29-34-702
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Street: means the entire width between boundary lines of every way when any part thereof is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Street: means the entire width between boundary lines of every way when any part thereof is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Supporting test results: means copies of the following documents and images:
  (A) Pulmonary function tests, including printouts of the flow volume loops, volume time curves, DLCO graphs, lung volume tests and graphs, quality control data, and other pertinent data for all trials and all other elements required to demonstrate compliance with the equipment, quality, interpretation, and reporting standards set forth in this part. See Tennessee Code 29-34-702
• Timed gas dilution: means a method for measuring total lung capacity in which the subject breathes into a spirometer containing a known concentration of an inert and insoluble gas for a specific time, and the concentration of that inert and insoluble gas in the lung is compared to the concentration of that type of gas in the spirometer. See Tennessee Code 29-34-702
• Total lung capacity: means the volume of gas contained in the lungs at the end of a maximal inspiration. See Tennessee Code 29-34-702
• Tractor: means any self-propelled vehicle designed or used as a traveling power plant or for drawing other vehicles, but having no provision for carrying loads independently. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Traffic: means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances either singly or together while using any highway for purposes of travel. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Traffic: means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances either singly or together while using any highway for purposes of travel. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Trailer: means every vehicle with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer, designed for carrying persons or property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and so constructed that no part of its weight rests upon the towing vehicle. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Truck: means every motor vehicle designed, used or maintained primarily for the transportation of property. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Truck tractor: means every motor vehicle designed and used primarily for drawing other vehicles and not so constructed as to carry a load other than a part of the weight of the vehicle and load so drawn. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Vehicle: means every device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, excepting devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• Vehicle: means every device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, excepting devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
• written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105