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Terms Used In Virginia Code 27-85.4

  • Includes: means includes, but not limited to. See Virginia Code 1-218
  • 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.
  • Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
  • United States: includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-255

“Action” includes nonaction or the failure to take action.

“Authorized agencies” means:

i. The chief or director of any municipal or county fire or police department or the sheriff of any county;

ii. The arson investigator of the State Police Department; the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Division of the United States Department of the Treasury; or

iii. The attorney for the Commonwealth or other person responsible for prosecutions in the jurisdiction where the fire occurred.

“Insurance company” includes the Virginia Property Insurance Association.

1979, c. 279; 1985, c. 58; 2008, c. 410.