Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 46.2 > Subtitle V > Chapter 21 - Regulation of Property Carriers

• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• air carrier: includes a common carrier by aircraft, a restricted common carrier by aircraft, and a contract carrier by aircraft. See Virginia Code 5.1-89
• Aircraft: means any contrivance now known, or hereafter invented, used, or designed for navigation of or flight in the air, including a balloon or other contrivance designed for maneuvering in airspace at an altitude greater than 24 inches above ground or water level, except that any contrivance now or hereafter invented of fixed or flexible wing design, operating without the assistance of any motor, engine, or other mechanical propulsive device, which is designed to utilize the feet and legs of the operator or operators as the sole means of initiating and sustaining forward motion during the launch and of providing the point of contact with the ground upon landing and commonly called a "hang glider" shall not be included within this definition. See Virginia Code 5.1-1
• aircraft: means any contrivance, except a contrivance operating twenty-four inches or less above ground or water level, now known or hereafter invented, used, or designed for navigation of, or flight in, the airspace in the transportation of passengers, property or mail. See Virginia Code 5.1-89
• Airman: means any individual, including the person in command and any pilot, mechanic, or member of the crew, who engages in the navigation of aircraft while under way within Virginia airspace; any individual who is directly in charge of the inspection, maintenance, overhauling, or repair of aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers, or accessories; and any individual who serves in the capacity of aircraft dispatcher. See Virginia Code 5.1-1
• Airport: means any area of land or water which is used, or intended for public use, for the landing and takeoff of aircraft, and any appurtenant areas that are used, or intended for use, for airport buildings or other airport facilities or rights-of-way, easements and together with all airport buildings and facilities located thereon. See Virginia Code 5.1-1
• airport: means a landing area used regularly by aircraft for receiving or discharging passengers or cargo, and open to the public for use. See Virginia Code 5.1-89
• Airspace: means all that space above the land and waters within the boundary of the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 5.1-1
• airspace: means all airspace above the lands and waters within the boundary of this Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 5.1-89
• 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.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Authorized insurer: means , in the case of an interstate motor carrier whose operations may or may not include intrastate activity, an insurer authorized to transact business in any one state, or, in the case of a solely intrastate motor carrier, an insurer authorized to transact business in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 46.2-2100
• Autocycle: means a three-wheeled motor vehicle that has a steering wheel and seating that does not require the operator to straddle or sit astride and is manufactured to comply with federal safety requirements for motorcycles. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
• Bedding: means any mattress, mattress pad, box spring, upholstered bed, davenport, upholstered sofa bed, quilted pad, comforter, bolster, cushion, pillow, featherbed, sleeping bag, or any other bag, case or cover made of leather, textile or other material which is stuffed or filled in whole or in part with concealed substance, which can be used by any human being for sleeping or reclining purposes. See Virginia Code 32.1-212
• Board: means the Virginia Aviation Board. See Virginia Code 5.1-1
• certificate: means a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued by the State Corporation Commission to common carriers by aircraft and restricted common carriers by aircraft under this chapter. See Virginia Code 5.1-89
• Certificate of fitness: means a certificate issued by the Department to certain "household goods carriers" under this chapter. See Virginia Code 46.2-2100
• Charity: An agency, institution, or organization in existence and operating for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons and conducted for educational, religious, scientific, medical, or other beneficent purposes.
• City: means an independent incorporated community which became a city as provided by law before noon on July 1, 1971, or which has within defined boundaries a population of 5,000 or more and which has become a city as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-208
• Civil aircraft: means any aircraft other than a public aircraft. See Virginia Code 5.1-1
• Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
• Commercial aircraft: means any civil aircraft used in flight activity for compensation or for hire. See Virginia Code 5.1-1
• Commercial establishment: means any commercial or industrial establishment, mill, factory, plant, refinery and any other works in which any chemical substance is manufactured or used as a raw material, catalyst, final product or process solvent for such; however, this term shall not be construed in the administration of this act to include normal farming and timbering activities. See Virginia Code 32.1-239
• Commission: means the State Corporation Commission. See Virginia Code 5.1-89
• common carrier by aircraft: means any person who undertakes, whether directly or by a lease or any other arrangement, to transport passengers, property for the general public, or mail by aircrafts for compensation (wholly within the airspace of the Commonwealth), whether over regular or irregular routes, including such aircraft operations of carriers by rail, water or motor vehicle and of express or forwarding companies. See Virginia Code 5.1-89
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Constructive weight: means a measurement of seven pounds per cubic foot of properly loaded van space. See Virginia Code 46.2-2100
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• contract carrier: means any person not included under the definitions of "common carrier by aircraft" or "restricted common carrier by aircraft" as defined in § Virginia Code 5.1-1
• 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.
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the Department of Aviation. See Virginia Code 5.1-1
• Department: means the State Department of Health. See Virginia Code 32.1-3
• Department: means the Department of Motor Vehicles. See Virginia Code 46.2-2100
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Drop zone: means any locality whether over land or water that is used, or intended for use, for the landing and recovery of sky divers or parachutists using a parachute or other contrivance designed for sport jumping. See Virginia Code 5.1-1
• 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.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Ex officio: means service by virtue of one's office and includes voting privileges for ex officio members unless otherwise provided. See Virginia Code 1-215
• farm: means any person that obtains at least 51 percent of its annual gross income from agricultural operations and produces the agricultural waste used as feedstock for the waste-to-energy technology, (ii) "agricultural waste" means biomass waste materials capable of decomposition that are produced from the raising of plants and animals during agricultural operations, including animal manures, bedding, plant stalks, hulls, and vegetable matter, and (iii) "waste-to-energy technology" means any technology, including but not limited to a methane digester, that converts agricultural waste into gas, steam, or heat that is used to generate electricity on-site. See Virginia Code 1-222.1
• Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
• Filling material: means cotton, wool, feathers, kapok, down, plant or vegetable fibers, or any other material or substance or combination thereof, loose or in batting, pads, or any prefabricated form, that is used or that may be used in articles of bedding or upholstered furniture. See Virginia Code 32.1-212
• Financial responsibility: means the ability to respond in damages for liability thereafter incurred arising out of the ownership, maintenance, use, or operation of a motor vehicle, in the amounts provided for in this chapter. See Virginia Code 46.2-2100
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Gross weight: means the weight of a truck after a shipment has been loaded. See Virginia Code 46.2-2100
• Highway: means every public highway or place of whatever nature open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicle travel in this Commonwealth, excluding the streets and alleys in towns and cities. See Virginia Code 46.2-2100
• Household goods: means personal effects and property used or to be used in a dwelling, when transported or arranged to be transported (i) between residences or (ii) between a residence and a storage facility with the intent to later transport to a residence. See Virginia Code 46.2-2100
• Household goods carrier: means a carrier who undertakes, whether directly or by a lease or other arrangement, to transport "household goods" as herein defined, by motor vehicle for compensation, on any highway in this Commonwealth, between two or more points in this Commonwealth, whether over regular or irregular routes. See Virginia Code 46.2-2100
• Importer: means any person who for the purpose of manufacture or resale receives bedding, upholstered furniture or filling material from any country other than the United States. See Virginia Code 32.1-212
• in writing: include any representation of words, letters, symbols, numbers, or figures, whether (i) printed or inscribed on a tangible medium or (ii) stored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in a perceivable form and whether an electronic signature authorized by Virginia Code 1-257
• Includes: means includes, but not limited to. See Virginia Code 1-218
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Interstate: means the transportation of property between states. See Virginia Code 46.2-2100
• Intrastate: means the transportation of property solely within a state. See Virginia Code 46.2-2100
• Ionizing radiation: means gamma rays and X-rays, alpha and beta particles, high-speed electrons, neutrons, protons, and other nuclear particles. See Virginia Code 32.1-227
• 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.
• landing area: means any locality, either of land or water, including airports and intermediate landing fields, which is used, or intended to be used, for the landing and takeoff of aircraft, whether or not facilities are provided for the shelter, servicing, or repair of aircraft, or for receiving or discharging passengers or cargo, and open to the public for such use. See Virginia Code 5.1-89
• landing field: means any locality, whether over land or water, including airports and intermediate landing fields, which is used or intended to be used for the landing and takeoff of aircraft and open to the public for such use, whether or not facilities are provided for the sheltering, servicing, or repair of aircraft or for receiving or discharging passengers or cargo. See Virginia Code 5.1-1
• 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.
• Locality: means a county, city, or town as the context may require. See Virginia Code 1-221
• Manufacturing: means producing, formulating, packaging or diluting any substance for commercial sale or resale. See Virginia Code 32.1-239
• Month: means a calendar month and "year" means a calendar year. See Virginia Code 1-223
• Motor carrier: means any person who undertakes whether directly or by a lease, to transport property, including household goods, as defined by this chapter, for compensation over the highways of the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 46.2-2100
• Motor vehicle: means any vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer propelled or drawn by mechanical power and used upon the highways in the transportation of property, but does not include any vehicle, locomotive or car operated exclusively on a rail or rails. See Virginia Code 46.2-2100
• Net weight: means the tare weight subtracted from the gross weight. See Virginia Code 46.2-2100
• New: means not previously used for any purpose. See Virginia Code 32.1-212
• 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.
• Permit: means a permit issued by the Department authorizing the transportation of property, excluding household goods transported for a distance greater than 30 road miles. See Virginia Code 46.2-2100
• Person: means any individual, corporation, government, political subdivision of the Commonwealth, or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, two or more of any of the foregoing having a joint or common interest, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Virginia Code 5.1-1
• Person: means an individual, corporation, partnership, or association or any other legal entity. See Virginia Code 32.1-3
• person: means any individual, firm, copartnership, corporation, company, association or joint-stock association, and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee, or personal representative thereof. See Virginia Code 5.1-89
• Person: means any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, association, trust, estate, public or private institution, group, department of the Commonwealth other than the Department of Health, political subdivision of the Commonwealth, any other state or political subdivision or department thereof, and any legal successor, representative, agent, or department of the foregoing, but not including federal government agencies. See Virginia Code 32.1-227
• Person: includes , in addition to the entities enumerated in § Virginia Code 32.1-239
• Person: means any individual, firm, copartnership, corporation, company, association or joint-stock association, and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee, or personal representative thereof. See Virginia Code 46.2-2100
• Person: means any landowner, owner of timber, owner of timber rights, sawmill operator, sawmill owner, veneer wood operator, pulpwood contractor, or any person engaged in the business of severing timber from the stump. See Virginia Code 10.1-1162
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Personal representative: includes the executor of a will or the administrator of the estate of a decedent, the administrator of such estate with the will annexed, the administrator of such estate unadministered by a former representative, whether there is a will or not, any person who is under the order of a circuit court to take into his possession the estate of a decedent for administration, and every other curator of a decedent's estate, for or against whom suits may be brought for causes of action that accrued to or against the decedent. See Virginia Code 1-234
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
• Property carrier: means any person, not herein exempted, who undertakes either directly or by a lease, to transport property for compensation. See Virginia Code 46.2-2100
• Public aircraft: includes any fighter or attack jet that is leased or owned by a private entity, provided that the aircraft operations are conducted exclusively for the purpose of military combat training in service to the federal government. See Virginia Code 5.1-1
• Radioactive material: means any material that emits ionizing radiation spontaneously. See Virginia Code 32.1-227
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• restricted common carrier by aircraft: means any person who undertakes, whether directly or by lease or other arrangement, to transport passengers or property of any restricted class or classes by aircraft for compensation whether over regular or irregular routes. See Virginia Code 5.1-89
• revocation: means that the document or privilege revoked is not subject to renewal or restoration except through reapplication after the expiration of the period of revocation. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
• Secondhand: means having been made prior use of or containing any filling material of which prior use has been made. See Virginia Code 32.1-212
• Semitrailer: means every vehicle of the trailer type so designed and used in conjunction with a motor vehicle that some part of its own weight and that of its own load rests on or is carried by another vehicle. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• 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.
• Shoddy: means any material which has been spun into yarn, knit or woven into fabric and subsequently cut up, torn up, broken or ground up. See Virginia Code 32.1-212
• Source material: means uranium or thorium, or any combination thereof, in any physical or chemical form; or ores that contain by weight one-twentieth of one percent (0. See Virginia Code 32.1-227
• Special nuclear material: means (i) plutonium, uranium 233, uranium enriched in the isotope 233 or in the isotope 235, and any other material which the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission or any successor thereto has determined to be such but does not include source material; or (ii) any material artificially enriched by any of the foregoing but not including source material. See Virginia Code 32.1-227
• 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
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• suspension: means that the document or privilege suspended has been temporarily withdrawn, but may be reinstated following the period of suspension unless it has expired prior to the end of the period of suspension. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
• sworn: means "affirm" or "affirmed. See Virginia Code 1-250
• Tare weight: means the weight of a truck before being loaded at a shipper's residence or place of business, including the pads, dollies, hand-trucks, ramps and other equipment normally used in the transportation of household goods shipments. See Virginia Code 46.2-2100
• Town: means any existing town or an incorporated community within one or more counties which became a town before noon, July 1, 1971, as provided by law or which has within defined boundaries a population of 1,000 or more and which has become a town as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-254
• Trailer: means every vehicle without motive power designed for carrying property or passengers wholly on its own structure and for being drawn by a motor vehicle, including manufactured homes. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
• transportation: includes the services of, and all transportation by, all vehicles operated by, for, or in the interest of any motor carrier, irrespective of ownership or contract, express or implied, together with all facilities and property operated or controlled by any such carrier or carriers and used in the transportation of property or in the performance of any service in connection therewith. See Virginia Code 46.2-2100
• Tree: means any tree of a currently commercially valuable species which is six inches or more in diameter. See Virginia Code 10.1-1162
• 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 to transport property on its own structure independent of any other vehicle and having a registered gross weight in excess of 7,500 pounds. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• 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
• Upholstered furniture: means any article of furniture designed to be used for sitting, resting, or reclining that is wholly or partly stuffed or filled with any filling material. See Virginia Code 32.1-212
• Vehicle: means every device in, on or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn on a highway, except personal delivery devices and devices moved by human power or used exclusively on stationary rails or tracks. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.