Terms Used In Vermont Statutes > Title 9 > Chapter 63 > Subchapter 2 - Charitable Solicitations

• 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.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• 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: means the Transportation Board as established in 19 V. See
• Charitable: means related to a charitable purpose. See
• Charitable organization: means any organization that is or holds itself out to be furthering any charitable purpose. See
• Charitable purpose: means any benevolent, educational, philanthropic, humane, patriotic, social welfare, advocacy, public health, environmental conservation, or civic objective or any objective of law enforcement officers, firefighters, or other persons who protect the public safety. See
• Coerce: means the failure to act in a fair and equitable manner in performing or complying with any terms or provisions of a franchise or agreement; provided, however, that recommendation, persuasion, urging, or argument shall not be synonymous with coerce or lack of good faith. See
• Consumer: means any person who purchases, leases, contracts for, or otherwise agrees to pay consideration for goods or services not for resale in the ordinary course of the person's trade or business but for the person's use or benefit or the use or benefit of a member of the person's household, or in connection with the operation of the person's household or a farm whether or not the farm is conducted as a trade or business, or a person who purchases, leases, contracts for, or otherwise agrees to pay consideration for goods or services not for resale in the ordinary course of the person's trade or business but for the use or benefit of the person's business or in connection with the operation of the person's business. See
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Contribution: means the grant, promise, or pledge of money, credit, financial assistance, or other goods or services in part or in whole for a charitable purpose. See
• Contributor: means a person who makes a contribution. See
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Dealership facilities: means the real estate, buildings, fixtures, and improvements that have been devoted to the conduct of business under the franchise by the new motor vehicle dealer. See
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Designated family member: means the spouse, child, grandchild, parent, brother, or sister of the owner of a new motor vehicle dealer who, in the case of the owner's death, is entitled to inherit the ownership interest in the new motor vehicle dealer under the terms of the owner's will, or who has been nominated in any other written instrument, or who, in the case of an incapacitated owner of a new motor vehicle dealer, has been appointed by a court as the legal representative of the new motor vehicle dealer's property. See
• Distributor: means any person, resident or nonresident, who in whole or in part offers for sale, sells, or distributes any new motor vehicle to new motor vehicle dealers or who maintains factory representatives or who controls any person, firm, association, corporation, or trust, resident or nonresident, who in whole or in part offers for sale, sells, or distributes any new motor vehicle to new motor vehicle dealers. See
• 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.
• Factory branch: means a branch office maintained by a manufacturer for the purpose of selling, or offering for sale, vehicles to a distributor or new motor vehicle dealer, or for directing or supervising in whole or in part factory or distributor representatives. See
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• Fees: shall mean earnings due for official services, aside from salaries or per diem compensation. See
• following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
• Franchise: means all agreements and contracts between any new motor vehicle manufacturer, written or otherwise, and any new motor vehicle dealer that relate to the operation of the franchise and purport to fix the legal rights and liabilities of the parties to such agreements or contracts, including agreements pursuant to which the dealer purchases and resells the franchise product, performs warranty and other service on the manufacturer's products, leases or rents the dealership premises or agreements concerning the dealership premises, or construction or renovation of the dealership premises. See
• Franchisee: means a new motor vehicle dealer who enters into or is currently a party to a franchise with a franchisor. See
• Franchisor: means any manufacturer, distributor, distributor branch or factory branch, importer, or other person, partnership, corporation, association, or entity, whether resident or nonresident, that enters into or is currently a party to a franchise with a new motor vehicle dealer. See
• Fundraising campaign: means an effort undertaken during a specific time period by a paid fundraiser to solicit contributions on behalf of a charitable organization. See
• Good faith: means honesty in fact and the observation of reasonable commercial standards of fair dealing in the trade as defined and interpreted in 9A V. See
• 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}
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Line-make: means motor vehicles that are offered for sale, lease, or distribution under a common name, trademark, service mark, or brand name of the franchisor or manufacturer of the motor vehicle. See
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Manufacturer: means any person, resident or nonresident, who manufactures or assembles new motor vehicles, or imports for distribution through distributors of motor vehicles, or any partnership, firm, association, joint venture, corporation, or trust, resident or nonresident, that is controlled by the manufacturer. See
• Motor home: means a motor vehicle that is primarily designed to provide temporary living quarters, built into as an integral part of, or permanently attached to, a self-propelled motor vehicle chassis or van. See
• Motor vehicle: means every vehicle intended primarily for use and operation on the public highways that is self-propelled, not including farm tractors and other machines and tools used in the production, harvesting, and care of farm products. See
• New motor vehicle: means a vehicle that has been sold to a new motor vehicle dealer and that 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
• New motor vehicle dealer: means any person who holds, or held at the time a cause of action under this chapter accrued, a valid sales and service agreement, franchise, or contract granted by the manufacturer or distributor for the retail sale of the manufacturer's or distributor's new motor vehicles, is not affiliated by ownership or control with a franchisor, and is engaged in the business of any of the following with respect to new motor vehicles or the parts and accessories for those new motor vehicles:

• Non-franchised zero-emission vehicle manufacturer: means a manufacturer that:

• Owner: means any person holding an ownership interest in the business entity operating as a new motor vehicle dealer or under a franchise as defined in this chapter either as a corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, or other legal entity. See
• Paid fundraiser: means a person who, for financial consideration, solicits contributions from persons in this State, either directly or through employees, agents, or those with whom the paid fundraiser is in privity. See
• Person: means every natural person, partnership, corporation, association, trust, estate, or any other legal entity. See
• 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
• real estate: shall include lands, tenements, and hereditaments and all rights thereto and interests therein, and pews or slips in places of public worship shall be treated as real estate. See
• Relevant market area: means the area within a radius of 25 miles around an existing dealer or the area of responsibility defined in the franchise, whichever is greater; except that, where a manufacturer is seeking to establish an additional new motor vehicle dealer and there are one or more existing new motor vehicle dealers of the same line-make within a 10-mile radius of the proposed dealer site, the "relevant market area" shall in all instances be the area within a radius of 10 miles around an existing dealer. 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: shall include any objects, wares, goods, commodities, work, labor, intangibles, courses of instruction or training, securities, bonds, debentures, stocks, real estate, or other property or services of any kind. See
• 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
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.