Terms Used In Vermont Statutes > Title 12 > Chapter 217 - Emancipation of Minors

• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Emancipated minor: means a minor who:

• 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.
• following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
• 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.
• 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.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Merchandise: means any items of tangible personal property displayed, held, stored, or offered for sale. See
• Merchant: means an owner or manager of any retail mercantile establishment, or any person or persons in a supervisory capacity or security officer authorized in writing by the owner or manager to make requests or detentions under this subchapter. See
• Movable property: means property the location of which can be changed, including things growing on, affixed to, or found in land, and documents although the rights represented thereby have no physical location. See
• 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.
• Person: shall include any natural person, corporation, municipality, the State of Vermont or any department, agency, or subdivision of the State, and any partnership, unincorporated association, or other legal entity. See
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Premises of a retail mercantile establishment: includes the retail mercantile establishment, any common use areas in shopping centers, and all parking areas set aside by a merchant or on behalf of a merchant for the parking of vehicles for the convenience of the patrons of the retail mercantile establishment. See
• Probate: Proving a will
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Reasonable force: means only that minimum amount of force necessary to detain the person who the merchant has reasonable cause to believe has committed the offense of retail theft. See
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Retail mercantile establishment: means any place where merchandise is displayed or offered for sale to the public, including storage areas on the premises of such an establishment. See
• Retail value: means the merchant's indicated price of the merchandise at the time of the theft. See
• Risk of harm: means a significant danger that a child will suffer serious harm other than by accidental means, which would be likely to cause physical injury, neglect, emotional maltreatment, or sexual abuse. See
• said: when used by way of reference to a person or thing shall apply to the same person or thing last mentioned. See
• Services: includes labor, professional service, transportation, public services not provided for in section 2021 of this title, accommodation in hotels, restaurants, or elsewhere, admission to exhibitions, or amusements or recreational facilities, use of vehicles or other movable property. See
• 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.
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States may apply to the District of Columbia and any territory and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.