Selected Entries

Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward

The legal structure of the modern U.S. business corporation had its genesis in Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 518, 4 L. Ed. 629 (1819), which held that private corporate charters are protected from state interference by the Contracts Clause of the U.S. Constitution (art. I, § 10).

Multiplicity of Actions

Several unnecessary attempts to litigate the same claim or issue.

Syllabus

A headnote; a short note preceding the text of a reported case that briefly summarizes the rulings of the court on the points decided in the case.

Stop Payment Order

Revocation of a check; a notice made by a depositor to his or her bank directing the bank to refuse payment on a specific check drawn by the depositor.

Usury

The crime of charging higher interest on a loan than the law permits.

Petition In Bankruptcy

A document filed in a specialized federal court to commence a proceeding to provide a means by which a debtor who is unwilling or financially unable to pay personal debts will satisfy the claims of his or her creditors as they come due.

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