Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 55.1 > Subtitle I - Property Conveyances

• Accident and sickness insurance: means insurance against loss resulting from sickness, or from bodily injury or death by accident or accidental means, or from a combination of any or all of these perils. See Virginia Code 38.2-109
• Account: means any one of the three accounts created by § Virginia Code 38.2-1603
• Account: means any one of the two accounts created under § Virginia Code 38.2-1701
• Administration of criminal justice: means performance of any activity directly involving the detection, apprehension, detention, pretrial release, post-trial release, prosecution, adjudication, correctional supervision, or rehabilitation of accused persons or criminal offenders or the collection, storage, and dissemination of criminal history record information. See Virginia Code 9.1-101
• Admitted assets: means , for purposes of the limitations and standards imposed by Articles 1 and 2 of this chapter, the amount thereof as permitted to be reported on the statutory financial statement of the insurer most recently required to be filed with the Commission pursuant to §§ Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Adult: means a person 18 years of age or more. See Virginia Code 1-203
• Affiliate: means a person who directly, or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with an insolvent insurer on December 31 of the year next preceding the date the insurer becomes an insolvent insurer. See Virginia Code 38.2-1603
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• Agency: means any agency, authority, board, department, division, commission, institution, bureau, or like governmental entity of the Commonwealth or of any unit of local government including counties, cities, towns, regional governments, and the departments thereof, and includes constitutional officers, except as otherwise expressly provided by law. See Virginia Code 2.2-3801
• agent: shall be construed to refer to any of the individual licensees referred to above. See Virginia Code 38.2-1866
• Agricultural land: means real estate in the Commonwealth used or zoned in a manner that would permit the use of the real estate for an agricultural operation. See Virginia Code 55.1-507
• Agricultural operation: means any operation devoted to the bona fide production of crops, animals, or fowl, including the production of fruits and vegetables of any kind; meat, dairy, and poultry products; nuts, tobacco, nursery, and floral products; and the production and harvest of products from silvicultural activity. See Virginia Code 55.1-507
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• 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.
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• Annuities: means all agreements to make periodic payments in specified or calculable sums pursuant to the terms of a contract for a stated period of time or for the life of the person or persons specified in the contract. See Virginia Code 38.2-106
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• annuity: shall be deemed to include "variable annuity" and "modified guaranteed annuity" and shall be deemed to include a contract under which a lump sum cash settlement is an alternative to the option of periodic payments. See Virginia Code 38.2-106
• 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.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• 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.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Association: means the Virginia Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association created by Chapter 16 (§ Virginia Code 38.2-1501
• Association: means the Virginia Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association created under § Virginia Code 38.2-1603
• Association: means the Virginia Life, Accident and Sickness Insurance Guaranty Association created under § Virginia Code 38.2-1701
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Attorney: means the person designated and authorized by subscribers as the attorney-in-fact having authority to obligate them on reciprocal insurance contracts. See Virginia Code 38.2-1201
• Attorney-in-fact: A person who, acting as an agent, is given written authorization by another person to transact business for him (her) out of court.
• Authority: means the respective political subdivisions of the Commonwealth created in this subpart. See Virginia Code 2.2-2200
• Authority: means the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority. See Virginia Code 2.2-2201
• authorized: when used in the context of assessments means that a resolution by the board of directors has been passed whereby an assessment will be called immediately or in the future from member insurers for a specified amount. See Virginia Code 38.2-1701
• 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
• 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.
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Benefit plan: means a specific employee, union, or association of natural persons benefit plan. See Virginia Code 38.2-1701
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• Board: means the Criminal Justice Services Board. See Virginia Code 9.1-101
• Board: means the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services. See Virginia Code 3.2-100
• Board: means the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board. See Virginia Code 10.1-500
• Board: means the board of directors of the Authority. See Virginia Code 2.2-2201
• Board of supervisors: means the governing body of a county. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• Bond with surety: includes the payment in cash of the full amount of the required bond and, in such case, no surety shall be required. See Virginia Code 1-205
• Bonds: means any bonds, refunding bonds, notes, debentures, interim certificates, or any bond, grant, revenue anticipation notes or any other evidences of indebtedness or obligation of an authority, whether in temporary or definitive form and whether the interest thereon is exempt from federal income taxation. See Virginia Code 2.2-2200
• Bureau of Insurance: means the division of the Commission established to administer the insurance laws of the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
• Business entity: means a corporation, association, partnership, joint venture, trust, church, or religious body. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Business entity: means a partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, corporation, or other legal entity other than a sole proprietorship. See Virginia Code 38.2-1800
• business of insurance: include solicitation, negotiations preliminary to execution, execution of an insurance contract, and the transaction of matters subsequent to execution of the contract and arising out of it. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
• called: when used in the context of assessments means that a notice has been issued by the Association to member insurers requiring that an authorized assessment be paid within the time frame set forth within the notice. See Virginia Code 38.2-1701
• Cap: means an agreement obligating the seller to make payments to the buyer, with each payment based on the amount by which a reference price or level or the performance or value of one or more underlying interests exceeds a predetermined number, sometimes called the strike rate or strike price. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Catastrophic disaster: means an event where the President of the United States or the Governor of the Commonwealth has declared a state of emergency. See Virginia Code 38.2-1845.1
• 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.
• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• 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
• Claimant: means any insured making a first party claim or any person instituting a liability claim; provided that no person who is an affiliate of the insolvent insurer may be a claimant. See Virginia Code 38.2-1603
• Claimants: means any owners, beneficiaries, assignees, certificate holders, or third-party beneficiaries of any insurance benefit or right arising out of and within the coverage of an insurance policy, annuity contract, benefit contract, or subscription contract. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• 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.
• Collegial body: means a governmental entity whose power or authority is vested within its membership. See Virginia Code 1-209
• Commission: means the Public-Private Partnership Advisory Commission. See Virginia Code 30-278
• Commission: means the State Corporation Commission. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. See Virginia Code 3.2-100
• Commodity contract: means :

  1. See Virginia Code 38.2-1501

• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Company: means any association, aggregate of individuals, business, corporation, individual, joint-stock company, Lloyds type of organization, organization, partnership, receiver, reciprocal or interinsurance exchange, trustee or society. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Comprehensive agreement: means the same as the term is defined in the Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002 (§ Virginia Code 30-278
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• contract owner: means the person who is identified as the legal owner under the terms of the policy or contract or who is otherwise vested with legal title to the policy or contract through a valid assignment completed in accordance with the terms of the policy or contract and properly recorded as the owner on the books of the member insurer. See Virginia Code 38.2-1701
• Contractual obligation: means an obligation under a policy or contract or certificate under a group policy or contract, or portion thereof for which coverage is provided under § Virginia Code 38.2-1701
• Control: means the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract other than a commercial contract for goods or nonmanagement services, or otherwise, unless the power is the result of an official position with or corporate office held by the person. See Virginia Code 38.2-1603
• 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.
• Correctional status information: means records and data concerning each condition of a convicted person's custodial status, including probation, confinement, work release, study release, escape, or termination of custody through expiration of sentence, parole, pardon, or court decision. See Virginia Code 9.1-101
• Counterparty exposure amount: means the amount of credit risk attributable to an over-the-counter derivative instrument, which amount of credit risk is equal to (i) the market value of the over-the-counter derivative instrument if the liquidation of the derivative instrument would result in a final cash payment to the insurer or (ii) zero if the liquidation of the derivative instrument would not result in a final cash payment to the insurer. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• County: means any existing county or such unit hereafter created. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• Covered claim: means an unpaid claim, including one for unearned premiums, submitted by a claimant, that (i) arises out of and is within the coverage and is subject to the applicable limits of a policy covered by this chapter and issued by an insurer who has been declared to be an insolvent insurer or (ii) arises out of and is within the coverage and is subject to the applicable limits of a policy that would not be excluded from the coverage of this chapter under the provisions of § Virginia Code 38.2-1603
• covered policy: means a policy or contract or portion of a policy or contract for which coverage is provided under § Virginia Code 38.2-1701
• Criminal history record information: means records and data collected by criminal justice agencies on adult individuals consisting of identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests, detentions, indictments, informations, or other formal charges, and any disposition arising therefrom. See Virginia Code 9.1-101
• Criminal justice agency: includes any program certified by the Commission on VASAP pursuant to § Virginia Code 9.1-101
• Criminal justice information system: means a system including the equipment, facilities, procedures, agreements, and organizations thereof, for the collection, processing, preservation, or dissemination of criminal history record information. See Virginia Code 9.1-101
• Customer: means a person who purchases portable electronics or services. See Virginia Code 38.2-1875
• Customer: means a person who leases a self storage unit. See Virginia Code 38.2-1881
• Data subject: means an individual about whom personal information is indexed or may be located under his name, personal number, or other identifiable particulars, in an information system. See Virginia Code 2.2-3801
• Date of investment: means the date on which funds are disbursed for an investment. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Delinquency proceeding: means any proceeding commenced against an insurance company for the purpose of liquidating, rehabilitating, reorganizing, or conserving an insurer. See Virginia Code 38.2-1501
• Department: means the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. See Virginia Code 55.1-507
• Department: means the Department of Criminal Justice Services. See Virginia Code 9.1-101
• Department: means the Department of Conservation and Recreation. See Virginia Code 10.1-100
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Derivative instrument: means an agreement, instrument, or a series or combination thereof (i) to make or take delivery of, or assume or relinquish, a specified amount of one or more underlying interests or to make a cash settlement in lieu thereof or (ii) that has a price, performance, value, or cash flow based primarily upon the actual or expected price, level, performance, value, or cash flow of one or more underlying interests. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Derivative transaction: means a transaction involving the use of one or more derivative instruments. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Disseminate: means to release, transfer, or otherwise communicate information orally, in writing, or by electronic means. See Virginia Code 2.2-3801
• Dissemination: means any transfer of information, whether orally, in writing, or by electronic means. See Virginia Code 9.1-101
• Domestic governmental entity: means the United States, any state, or any municipality or district in any such state, or any political subdivision, civil division, agency or instrumentality of one or more of the foregoing. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Donee: The recipient of a gift.
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Dower: A widow
• Due notice: means notice published at least twice, with an interval of at least seven days between the two publication dates, in a newspaper or other publication of general circulation within the appropriate area, or if no such publication of general circulation is available, by posting at a reasonable number of conspicuous places within the appropriate area. See Virginia Code 10.1-500
• emergency program: means the Emergency Program of the Federal Insurance Administration which provides subsidized flood insurance for potential flood victims, applicable to both new and existing structures, pending completion of applicable actuarial rates which is a prerequisite for eligibility to participate in the regular program. See Virginia Code 10.1-600
• En banc: In the bench or "full bench." Refers to court sessions with the entire membership of a court participating rather than the usual quorum. U.S. courts of appeals usually sit in panels of three judges, but may expand to a larger number in certain cases. They are then said to be sitting en banc.
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• 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
• Fair Credit Reporting Act: A federal law, established in 1971 and revised in 1997, that gives consumers the right to see their credit records and correct any mistakes. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• Fair market value: means the price that property will bring when (i) offered for sale by one who desires, but who is not obligated, to sell it; (ii) bought by one who is under no necessity of having it; and (iii) sufficient time has elapsed to allow interested buyers the opportunity to become informed of the offer for sale. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• 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
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: A government corporation that insures the deposits of all national and state banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System. ^{Source: OCC}
• Federal Reserve System: The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve System is composed of a central governmental agency in Washington, D.C. (the Board of Governors) and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in major cities throughout the United States. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Fiduciary: shall include any one or more of the following:

  a. See Virginia Code 8.01-2

• 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.
• fixed charges: includes contingent interest payments. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Flood plain management regulations: means zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, the building code, health regulations, special purpose ordinances such as flood plain ordinances, grading ordinances or erosion control ordinances, and other rules, regulations and ordinances which may affect flood plain uses. See Virginia Code 10.1-600
• flood-prone areas: means those areas adjoining a river, stream, water course, ocean, bay or lake which are likely to be covered by floodwaters. See Virginia Code 10.1-600
• Floor: means an agreement obligating the seller to make payments to the buyer in which each payment is based on the amount by which a predetermined number, sometimes called the floor rate or price, exceeds a reference price, a level, or the performance or value of one or more underlying interests. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Foreign adversary: means any foreign government or nongovernment person determined by the U. See Virginia Code 55.1-507
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. ^{Source: OCC}
• Future: means an agreement, traded on a qualified exchange or qualified foreign exchange, to make or take delivery of, or effect a cash settlement based on the actual or expected price, level, performance or value of, one or more underlying interests and includes an insurance future. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Germane: On the subject of the pending bill or other business; a strict standard of relevance.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Governing body: means the board of supervisors of a county, council of a city, or council of a town, as the context may require. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
• Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• Habeas corpus: A writ that is usually used to bring a prisoner before the court to determine the legality of his imprisonment. It may also be used to bring a person in custody before the court to give testimony, or to be prosecuted.
• Hedging transaction: means :

  1. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401

• High grade obligations: means obligations which (i) are rated one or two by the Securities Valuation Office of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners or (ii) if not rated by the Securities Valuation Office, are rated in an equivalent grade by a national rating agency recognized by the Commission. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• home service insurer: means an insurer selling industrial or ordinary life insurance or accident and sickness insurance on a debit, where the premiums are payable at least monthly directly by the owner of the policy or a person representing the owner to a representative of the insurer. See Virginia Code 38.2-1805
• Home state: means the District of Columbia and any state or territory of the United States, except Virginia, or any province of Canada, in which a public adjuster maintains such person's principal place of residence or principal place of business and is licensed by that jurisdiction to act as a resident public adjuster. See Virginia Code 38.2-1845.1
• Hundred year flood: means a flood of that level which on the average will have a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year at designated locations. See Virginia Code 10.1-600
• Impaired insurer: means a member insurer considered by the Commission to be potentially unable to fulfill its contractual obligations. See Virginia Code 38.2-1701
• In forma pauperis: In the manner of a pauper. Permission given to a person to sue without payment of court fees on claim of indigence or poverty.
• 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
• Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
• Information system: means the total components and operations of a record-keeping process, including information collected or managed by means of computer networks and the Internet, whether automated or manual, containing personal information and the name, personal number, or other identifying particulars of a data subject. See Virginia Code 2.2-3801
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Insolvent: means (i) the condition of an insurer that has liabilities in excess of assets or (ii) the inability of an insurer to pay its obligations as they become due in the usual course of business. See Virginia Code 38.2-1501
• Insolvent insurer: means an insurer that is (i) licensed to transact the business of insurance in the Commonwealth either at the time the policy was issued, when the obligation with respect to the covered claim was assumed, or when the insured loss occurred and (ii) against whom an order of liquidation with a finding of insolvency has been entered after July 1, 1987, by a court of competent jurisdiction in the insurer's state of domicile or of the Commonwealth under the provisions of Chapter 15 (§ Virginia Code 38.2-1603
• Insolvent insurer: means a member insurer that is placed under an order of liquidation by a court of competent jurisdiction with a finding of insolvency. See Virginia Code 38.2-1701
• Insurance consultant: means any individual or business entity who acts as an independent contractor in relation to his client and for a fee or compensation, other than from an insurer or agent or surplus lines broker, advises or offers or purports to advise, as to life and health or property and casualty insurance, any person actively or prospectively insured. See Virginia Code 38.2-1837
• Insurance future: means a future relating to an index or pool that is based on insurance-related items. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Insurance futures option: means an option on an insurance future. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• insurance policies: shall include contracts of fidelity, indemnity, guaranty and suretyship. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
• insurance producer: when used without qualification, means an individual or business entity that sells, solicits, or negotiates contracts of insurance or annuity in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 38.2-1800
• Insurer: means an insurance company. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
• Insurer: means a company licensed pursuant to Chapter 10 (§ Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Inter vivos: Transfer of property from one living person to another living person.
• Interest in agricultural land: means any right, title, or interest, direct or indirect, in and to (i) agricultural land or (ii) any entity or other organization that holds any right, title, or interest, direct or indirect, in and to agricultural land. See Virginia Code 55.1-507
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
• Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
• Joint tenancy: A form of property ownership in which two or more parties hold an undivided interest in the same property that was conveyed under the same instrument at the same time. A joint tenant can sell his (her) interest but not dispose of it by will. Upon the death of a joint tenant, his (her) undivided interest is distributed among the surviving joint tenants.
• 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.
• lane: means that portion of a roadway designed or designated to accommodate the forward movement of a single line of vehicles. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
• Law-enforcement officer: means any full-time or part-time employee of a police department or sheriff's office which is a part of or administered by the Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof, or any full-time or part-time employee of a private police department, and who is responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the enforcement of the penal, traffic or highway laws of the Commonwealth, and shall include any (i) special agent of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority; (ii) police agent appointed under the provisions of § 56-353; (iii) officer of the Virginia Marine Police; (iv) conservation police officer who is a full-time sworn member of the enforcement division of the Department of Wildlife Resources; (v) investigator who is a sworn member of the security division of the Virginia Lottery; (vi) conservation officer of the Department of Conservation and Recreation commissioned pursuant to § Virginia Code 9.1-101
• 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}
• Legatee: A beneficiary of a decedent
• Lessor: means a person in the business of engaging in self storage unit transactions directly or indirectly. See Virginia Code 38.2-1881
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• License: means a document issued by the Commission authorizing an individual or business entity to act as a public adjuster. See Virginia Code 38.2-1845.1
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Life and health insurance consultant: means an insurance consultant whose services are limited to insurance as defined in §§ Virginia Code 38.2-1837
• Life estate: A property interest limited in duration to the life of the individual holding the interest (life tenant).
• Life insurance: includes policies that also provide (i) endowment benefits; (ii) additional benefits incidental to a loss in the event of death, dismemberment, or loss by accident or accidental means; (iii) additional benefits to safeguard the contract from lapse or to provide a special surrender value, a special benefit or an annuity, in the event of total and permanent disability of the insured; and (iv) optional modes of settlement of proceeds. See Virginia Code 38.2-102
• Life insurer: means any insurer authorized to transact life insurance or to grant annuities as defined in §§ Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• local government: shall be construed to mean a county, city, or town as the context may require. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• Locality: means a county, city, or town. See Virginia Code 10.1-600
• Locality: means a county, city, or town as the context may require. See Virginia Code 1-221
• Lower grade obligations: means obligations which (i) are rated four, five, or six by the Securities Valuation Office of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners or (ii) if not rated by the Securities Valuation Office, are rated in an equivalent grade by a national rating agency recognized by the Commission. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Medicare: means the "Health Insurance for the Aged Act" Title XVIII of the Social Security Amendment of 1965, as amended. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
• Medium grade obligations: means obligations which (i) are rated three by the Securities Valuation Office of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners or (ii) if not rated by the Securities Valuation office, are rated in an equivalent grade by a national rating agency recognized by the Commission. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Member insurer: means any person who (i) writes any class of insurance to which this chapter applies under § Virginia Code 38.2-1603
• Member insurer: means an insurer or health maintenance organization licensed to transact in the Commonwealth any class of insurance or health maintenance organization business to which this chapter applies under § Virginia Code 38.2-1701
• Minimum capital and surplus: means the minimum surplus to policyholders, or minimum net worth, a particular insurer must have to obtain and maintain its license to transact business in this Commonwealth pursuant to the applicable provisions of this title. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Month: means a calendar month and "year" means a calendar year. See Virginia Code 1-223
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. ^{Source: OCC}
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
• National flood insurance program: means the program established by the United States Congress under provisions of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, as amended, and as expanded in the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, designed to provide flood insurance at rates made affordable through federal subsidy. See Virginia Code 10.1-600
• Negotiate: means the act of conferring directly with or offering advice directly to a purchaser or prospective purchaser of a particular contract of public adjusting concerning any of the substantive benefits, terms, or conditions of the contract. See Virginia Code 38.2-1845.1
• Net direct written premiums: means direct gross premiums written in the Commonwealth on insurance policies applicable to this chapter, less return premiums and dividends paid or credited to policyholders on direct business. See Virginia Code 38.2-1603
• Netting agreement: means :

  1. See Virginia Code 38.2-1501

• Notary: means notary public. See Virginia Code 1-226
• 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.
• Obligation: means a bond, debenture, note or other evidence of indebtedness. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Option: includes an insurance futures option. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Oral argument: An opportunity for lawyers to summarize their position before the court and also to answer the judges' questions.
• Over-the-counter derivative instrument: means a derivative instrument that is entered into with a business entity other than through a qualified exchange or qualified foreign exchange or that is cleared other than through a qualified clearinghouse. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• 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.
• Person: shall include individuals, a trust, an estate, a partnership, an association, an order, a corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity;

  6. See Virginia Code 8.01-2

• Person: means any association, aggregate of individuals, business, company, corporation, individual, joint-stock company, Lloyds type of organization, organization, partnership, receiver, reciprocal or interinsurance exchange, trustee or society. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
• Person under a disability: shall include :

  a. See Virginia Code 8.01-2

• Person under disability: includes a person less than 18 years of age. See Virginia Code 1-232
• Personal estate: includes chattels real and such other estate as, upon the death of the owner intestate, would devolve upon his personal representative. See Virginia Code 1-233
• Personal information: means all information that (i) describes, locates or indexes anything about an individual including, but not limited to, his social security number, driver's license number, agency-issued identification number, student identification number, real or personal property holdings derived from tax returns, and his education, financial transactions, medical history, ancestry, religion, political ideology, criminal or employment record, or (ii) affords a basis for inferring personal characteristics, such as finger and voice prints, photographs, or things done by or to such individual; and the record of his presence, registration, or membership in an organization or activity, or admission to an institution. See Virginia Code 2.2-3801
• 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
• Plan sponsor: means (i) the employer, in the case of a benefit plan established or maintained by a single employer; (ii) the employee organization in the case of a benefit plan established or maintained by an employee organization; or (iii) in the case of a benefit plan established or maintained by two or more employers or jointly by one or more employers and one or more employee organizations, the association, committee, joint board of trustees, or other similar group of representatives of the parties who establish or maintain the benefit plan. See Virginia Code 38.2-1701
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• Portable electronics: means electronic devices that are portable in nature, accessories to such devices, and services related to the use of the devices. See Virginia Code 38.2-1875
• Portable electronics insurance: means insurance providing coverage for the repair or replacement of portable electronics that may cover portable electronics against any one or more of the following causes of loss: loss, theft, mechanical failure, malfunction, damage, or other applicable peril. See Virginia Code 38.2-1875
• Potential exposure: means the amount determined in accordance with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Annual Statement Instructions. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• 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}
• Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
• Premiums: means amounts or considerations, by whatever name called, received on covered policies or contracts, less any returned premiums, considerations, and deposits and less dividends and experience credits. See Virginia Code 38.2-1701
• Private police department: means any police department, other than a department that employs police agents under the provisions of § 56-353, that employs private police officers operated by an entity authorized by statute or an act of assembly to establish a private police department or such entity's successor in interest, provided it complies with the requirements set forth herein. See Virginia Code 9.1-101
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
• Prohibited investment: means any investment prohibited by § Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Proof of compliance: means all fees prescribed by the Board and all documents and forms specified by the Board for demonstrating completion of Board-approved continuing education courses relevant to the license held and for the required number of hours. See Virginia Code 38.2-1868.1
• Proper purpose: includes the sharing or dissemination of data or information among and between agencies in order to (i) streamline administrative processes to improve the efficiency and efficacy of services, access to services, eligibility determinations for services, and service delivery; (ii) reduce paperwork and administrative burdens on applicants for and recipients of public services; (iii) improve the efficiency and efficacy of the management of public programs; (iv) prevent fraud and improve auditing capabilities; (v) conduct outcomes-related research; (vi) develop quantifiable data to aid in policy development and decision making to promote the most efficient and effective use of resources; and (vii) perform data analytics regarding any of the purposes set forth in this definition. See Virginia Code 2.2-3801
• Property and casualty insurance consultant: means an insurance consultant whose services are limited to insurance as defined in §§ Virginia Code 38.2-1837
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Public adjuster: means an individual or business entity who receives, either directly or indirectly, a salary, fee, commission, or other compensation for engaging in public adjusting. See Virginia Code 38.2-1845.1
• Public adjusting: means soliciting, investigating, negotiating, adjusting, or providing advice to an insured in relation to first party claims arising under insurance contracts that insure the real or personal property of an insured for the purpose of effecting the settlement of a claim on behalf of the insured. See Virginia Code 38.2-1845.1
• Public corporation: means the Commonwealth of Virginia or any political subdivision thereof or any incorporated municipality therein or any public agency of the Commonwealth or of any political subdivision thereof or of any municipality therein. See Virginia Code 1-219.1
• Public facilities: means (i) airports, landing fields, and air navigation facilities; (ii) educational facilities; (iii) flood control, bank and shore protection, watershed protection, and dams; (iv) hospital facilities; (v) judicial and court facilities; (vi) correctional facilities, including jails and penitentiaries; (vii) library facilities; (viii) military installations; (ix) parks so designated by the Commonwealth or by the locality in its comprehensive plan; (x) properties of historical significance so designated by the Commonwealth; (xi) law enforcement, fire, emergency medical, and rescue facilities; (xii) sanitary sewer, water or stormwater facilities; (xiii) transportation facilities including highways, roads, streets, and bridges, traffic signals, related easements and rights-of-way, mass transit, ports, and any components of federal, state, or local transportation facilities; (xiv) waste management facilities for hazardous, radioactive, or other waste; (xv) office facilities occupied by a public corporation; and (xvi) such other facilities that are necessary to the construction, maintenance, or operation of a public facility as listed in clauses (i) through (xv) and directly related thereto. See Virginia Code 1-219.1
• Qualified clearinghouse: means a clearinghouse for, and that is subject to the rules of, a qualified exchange or a qualified foreign exchange, which clearinghouse provides clearing services, including acting as a counterparty to each of the parties to a transaction such that the parties no longer have credit risk as to each other. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Qualified exchange: means :

  1. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401

• Qualified financial contract: means any commodity contract, forward contract, repurchase agreement, securities contract, swap agreement, or any similar agreement that the Commission determines to be a qualified financial contract for the purposes of this chapter. See Virginia Code 38.2-1501
• Qualified foreign exchange: means a foreign exchange, board of trade, or contract market located outside the United States:

  1. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401

• Qualifying project: means the same as that term is defined in the Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002. See Virginia Code 30-278
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• rates: means any rate of premium, policy fee, membership fee or any other charge made by an insurer for or in connection with a contract or policy of insurance. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
• real estate: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights and appurtenances thereto and interests therein, other than a chattel interest. See Virginia Code 1-219
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Receiver: means the Commission or any person appointed to manage delinquency proceedings. See Virginia Code 38.2-1501
• Receivership court: means the court in the insolvent or impaired insurer's state having jurisdiction over the conservation, rehabilitation, or liquidation of the member insurer. See Virginia Code 38.2-1701
• Recess: A temporary interruption of the legislative business.
• Reciprocal: means the aggregation of subscribers under a common name. See Virginia Code 38.2-1201
• Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Regular flood insurance program: means a program of insurance under the national flood insurance program, for which the Federal Insurance Administrator has issued a flood insurance rate map and applicable actuarial rates, and under which new construction will not be eligible for flood insurance except at the applicable actuarial rates. See Virginia Code 10.1-600
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Remainderman: One entitled to the remainder of an estate after a particular reserved right or interest, such as a life tenancy, has expired.
• Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
• Replication transaction: means a derivative transaction that is intended to replicate the performance of one or more assets that an insurer is authorized to acquire under this chapter. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
• Reserve liabilities: means those liabilities which are required to be established by an insurer for all of its outstanding insurance policies, annuity contracts, benefit contracts and subscription contracts, in accordance with this title, as amended or as hereafter amended. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Resident: means a person to whom a contractual obligation is owed and who resides in the Commonwealth on the date a member insurer becomes an impaired insurer or a court order is entered that determines a member insurer to be an insolvent insurer. See Virginia Code 38.2-1701
• Responsible public entity: means a public entity that is an agency or institution of the Commonwealth and that has the power to develop or operate a qualifying project. See Virginia Code 30-278
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• 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
• Right of survivorship: The ownership rights that result in the acquisition of title to property by reason of having survived other co-owners.
• Roadway: means that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the shoulder. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
• sale: includes barter and exchange. See Virginia Code 3.2-5600
• School bus: means any motor vehicle, other than a station wagon, automobile, truck, or commercial bus, which is: (i) designed and used primarily for the transportation of pupils to and from public, private or religious schools, or used for the transportation of individuals with mental or physical disabilities to and from a sheltered workshop; (ii) painted yellow and bears the words "School Bus" in black letters of a specified size on front and rear; and (iii) is equipped with warning devices prescribed in § Virginia Code 46.2-100
• School resource officer: means a certified law-enforcement officer hired by the local law-enforcement agency to provide law-enforcement and security services to Virginia public elementary and secondary schools. See Virginia Code 9.1-101
• School security officer: means an individual who is employed by the local school board or a private or religious school for the singular purpose of maintaining order and discipline, preventing crime, investigating violations of the policies of the school board or the private or religious school, and detaining students violating the law or the policies of the school board or the private or religious school on school property, school buses, or at school-sponsored events and who is responsible solely for ensuring the safety, security, and welfare of all students, faculty, staff, and visitors in the assigned school. See Virginia Code 9.1-101
• Sealer: means an inspector of weights and measures of a city, a county, or a joint city-county jurisdiction. See Virginia Code 3.2-5600
• Self storage insurance: means insurance providing coverage against loss of or damage to items of personal property stored in a self storage unit in accordance with the terms of the self storage unit rental agreement. See Virginia Code 38.2-1881
• Self storage unit: means a unit in a building, part of a building, or place used only for storage of personal property by the customer leasing the unit. See Virginia Code 38.2-1881
• 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.
• Shared-use path: means a bikeway that is physically separated from motorized vehicular traffic by an open space or barrier and is located either within the highway right-of-way or within a separate right-of-way. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
• Sheriff: shall include deputy sheriffs and such other persons designated in § Virginia Code 8.01-2
• Shoulder: means that part of a highway between the portion regularly traveled by vehicular traffic and the lateral curbline or ditch. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
• Solicit: means attempting to sell insurance or asking or urging a person to apply for a particular class of insurance from one or more insurers. See Virginia Code 38.2-1800
• Soliciting: means attempting to persuade or asking or urging an insured to enter into a public adjusting contract by describing the terms of the contract, including any fees or commissions, and offering to negotiate a claim of loss on behalf of the insured. See Virginia Code 38.2-1845.1
• State: means any commonwealth, state, territory, district or insular possession of the United States. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
• state agency: means the same as that term is defined in § Virginia Code 1-206
• Statement value: means the amount determined in accordance with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Annual Statement Instructions. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Structured settlement annuity: means an annuity purchased in order to fund periodic payments for a plaintiff or other claimant in payment for or with respect to personal injury or sickness suffered by the plaintiff or other claimant. See Virginia Code 38.2-1701
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Subscriber: means a person obligated under a reciprocal insurance agreement. See Virginia Code 38.2-1201
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Superintendent: means the Superintendent of the Department of State Police of the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
• Supervisor: means a member of the board of supervisors of a county. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• Surety bail bondsman: means a person licensed as a surety bail bondsman pursuant to Article 11 (§ Virginia Code 38.2-1800
• Surplus lines broker: means a person licensed pursuant to Article 5. See Virginia Code 38.2-1800
• Surplus to policyholders: means the excess of total admitted assets over the liabilities of an insurer, and shall be the sum of all capital and surplus accounts, including any voluntary reserves, minus any impairment of all capital and surplus accounts. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
• 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
• Tenancy by the entirety: A type of joint tenancy between husband and wife that is recognized in some States. Neither party can sever the joint tenancy relationship; when a spouse dies, the survivor acquires full title to the property.
• Terminate: means the cancellation of the relationship between an insurance producer and the insurer, or the termination of an insurance producer's authority to transact insurance. See Virginia Code 38.2-1800
• Testate: To die leaving a will.
• Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Title insurance agent: means an agent licensed in the Commonwealth to sell, solicit, or negotiate title insurance, and performing all of the services set forth in § Virginia Code 38.2-1800
• 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.
• Town: means any existing town or an incorporated community within one or more counties which became a town before noon, July one, nineteen hundred seventy-one, 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 15.2-102
• 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
• Toy vehicle: means any motorized or propellant-driven device that has no manufacturer-issued vehicle identification number that is designed or used to carry any person or persons, on any number of wheels, bearings, glides, blades, runners, or a cushion of air. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
• Tractor truck: 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 load and weight of the vehicle attached thereto. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
• Traffic infraction: means a violation of law punishable as provided in § Virginia Code 46.2-100
• 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
• 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
• Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Unallocated annuity contract: means an annuity contract or group annuity certificate that is not issued to and owned by an individual or a trust created by an individual for the benefit of one or more individuals, except to the extent of any annuity benefits guaranteed to an individual or such a trust by an insurer under the contract or certificate. See Virginia Code 38.2-1701
• Uniform Application: means the current version of the NAIC Uniform Application for resident and nonresident producer licensing. See Virginia Code 38.2-1800
• Uniform Business Entity Application: means the current version of the NAIC Uniform Business Entity Application for resident and nonresident business entities. See Virginia Code 38.2-1800
• Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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
• Variable contract agent: means an agent licensed in the Commonwealth to sell, solicit, or negotiate variable life insurance and variable annuity contracts on behalf of insurers licensed in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 38.2-1800
• 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
• Vendor: means a person in the business of engaging in portable electronics transactions directly or indirectly. See Virginia Code 38.2-1875
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• Veto: The procedure established under the Constitution by which the President/Governor refuses to approve a bill or joint resolution and thus prevents its enactment into law. A regular veto occurs when the President/Governor returns the legislation to the house in which it originated. The President/Governor usually returns a vetoed bill with a message indicating his reasons for rejecting the measure. In Congress, the veto can be overridden only by a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House.
• Viatical settlement broker: means a person licensed pursuant to Chapter 60 (§ Virginia Code 38.2-1800
• Warrant: means an instrument that gives the holder the right to purchase an underlying financial instrument at a given price and time or at a series of prices and times outlined in the warrant agreement. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Watercraft transporter: means any tractor truck, lowboy, vehicle, or combination, including vehicles or combinations that transport watercraft on their power unit, designed and used exclusively for the transportation of watercraft. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
• Weight: means the net weight when used in connection with this chapter. See Virginia Code 3.2-5600
• Weights and measures: means all weights and measures of every kind, including instruments and devices for weighing and measuring, and any appliances and accessories associated with any or all such instruments and devices. See Virginia Code 3.2-5600
• Wrap-around mortgage: means a loan made by an insurer to a borrower, secured by a mortgage or deed of trust on real property encumbered by a first mortgage or first deed of trust, where the total amount of the obligation of the borrower to the insurer under the loan is not less than the sum of (i) the principal amount initially disbursed by the insurer on account of the loan and (ii) the unpaid principal balance of the obligation secured by the preexisting mortgage or deed of trust. See Virginia Code 38.2-1401
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
• Writ of certiorari: An order issued by the Supreme Court directing the lower court to transmit records for a case for which it will hear on appeal.