Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 59.1 > Chapter 1.1 - Virginia Antitrust Act

• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• 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.
• 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
• commerce: includes all economic activity involving or relating to any commodity, service, or business activity. See Virginia Code 59.1-9.3
• Commission: means the Marine Resources Commission. See Virginia Code 28.2-100
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Marine Resources. See Virginia Code 28.2-100
• Commodity: includes any kind of real or personal property. See Virginia Code 59.1-9.3
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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.
• Crab pot: means a device made of wire or thread net used to catch crabs. See Virginia Code 28.2-700
• Crustacea: means all edible species of crab, lobster and shrimp, whether raw or processed. See Virginia Code 28.2-800
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Depuration: means the process that uses a controlled aquatic environment to reduce the level of bacteria or viruses in live shellfish. See Virginia Code 28.2-800
• 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}
• Establishment: means any vehicle, vessel, property or premises where crustacea, finfish or shellfish are transported, held, stored, processed, packed, repacked, or pasteurized in preparation for marketing. See Virginia Code 28.2-800
• 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.
• Finfish: means any cold-blooded, strictly aquatic, water-breathing craniate vertebrate with fins, including cyclostomes, elasmobranchs and higher-gilled aquatic vertebrates with cartilaginous or bony skeletons or any parts thereof. See Virginia Code 28.2-800
• 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
• Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
• 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.
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Oath: includes affirmation. See Virginia Code 1-228
• Officer: means a member of the Virginia Marine Police. See Virginia Code 28.2-100
• 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: includes any natural person; any trust or association of persons, formal or otherwise; or any corporation, partnership, company, or other legal or commercial entity. See Virginia Code 59.1-9.3
• 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
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• 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.
• Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
• Relay: means to move shellfish for the purpose of natural purification from water which is not approved to water which is approved or conditionally approved by the State Health Commissioner. See Virginia Code 28.2-800
• Service: includes any activity that is performed in whole or in part for the purpose of financial gain, including personal service, rental, leasing, or licensing for use. See Virginia Code 59.1-9.3
• Shellfish: means all species within the phylum Mollusca including but not limited to oysters, clams, mussels, scallops, conchs and whelks, whether raw or processed. See Virginia Code 28.2-800
• 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.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Subpoena duces tecum: A command to a witness to produce documents.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• 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
• 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
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.