Unsecured Debt at Legal Glossary

What is it? A debt that is not tied to any item of property. A creditor doesnt have the right to grab property to satisfy the debt if you default. The creditors only remedy is to sue you and get a judgment. Compare secured debt.

Law Definition Added By: Jenna

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Law Terms liability insurance coverage is Compensation to third parties who are injured or whose property is damaged due to the fault of the insurance holder. You may have liability insurance for your car or your home, or to cover actions you take in the course of your profession. Liability polices are sometimes called third-party policies.

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Law Terms demurrer is A request made to a court, asking it to dismiss a lawsuit on the grounds that no legal claim is asserted. For example, you might file a demurrer if your neighbor sued you for parking on the street in front of her house. Your parking habits may annoy your neighbor, but the curb is public property and parking there doesnt cause any harm recognized by the law. After a demurrer is filed, the judge holds a hearing at which both sides can make their arguments about the matter. The judge may dismiss all or part of the lawsuit, or may allow the party who filed the lawsuit to amend its complaint. In some states and in federal court, the term demurrer has been replaced by motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim (called a 12(b)(6) motion in federal court) or similar term.

Law Terms jurisdiction is The authority of a court to hear and decide a case. To make a legally valid decision in a case, a court must have both subject matter jurisdiction (power to hear the type of case in question, which is granted by the state legislatures and Congress) and personal jurisdiction (power to make a decision affecting the parties involved in the lawsuit, which a court gets as a result of the parties actions). For example, state courts subject matter jurisdiction includes the civil and criminal laws that the state legislature has passed, but does not include the right to hear patent disputes or immigration violations, which Congress has decided may only be heard in federal courts. And no court can entertain a case unless the parties agree to be there or live in the state (or federal district) where the court sits, or have enough contacts with the state or district that its fair to make them answer to that court. (Doing business in a state, owning property there or driving on its highways will usually be enough to allow the court to hear the case.) The term jurisdiction is also commonly used to define the amount of money a court has the power to award. For example, small claims courts have jurisdiction only to hear cases up to a relatively low monetary amount--depending on the state, typically in the range of $2,000-$10,000. If a court doesnt have personal jurisdiction over all the parties and the subject matter involved, it lacks jurisdiction, which means it doesnt have the power to render a decision.

Law Terms unclean hands is A legal doctrine that prevents a plaintiff who has acted unethically in relation to a lawsuit from winning the suit or from recovering as much money as she would have if she had behaved honorably. For example, if a contractor is suing a homeowner to recover the price of work he did on the home, his failure to perform the work as specified would leave him with unclean hands.