Also known as: before
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A preposition or adverbial marker denoting occurrence or existence prior to a specified point in time or event.
Andre Antoine signed a lease for a vacant warehouse but had not yet moved any belongings inside. When vandals broke a window the night before his planned move-in, the structure did not qualify as a dwelling under the burglary statute because no one had yet used it regularly for sleeping.
Adam Anderson contracted to buy a commercial building from Apollo Energy. Hours after signing but before closing, a fire destroyed the structure. Under equitable conversion the buyer bore the loss and remained obligated to pay the full purchase price.
Amelia Amari took the presidential oath at noon on January 20. All executive authority vested in her at that instant, terminating the prior president's powers under the constitutional timetable.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Anthony Arnold asked the court to take judicial notice of a public record after the judge had already announced the fact. The rule still entitled him to a hearing on the propriety of the notice and the nature of the fact noticed.
Arthur Abrams, presiding over a trial, observed counsel making repeated gender-based remarks to a witness. He halted the proceedings and directed counsel to refrain from any further manifestations of bias or harassment.
Alan Ackerman agreed orally with Astra Aerospace to handle a contract dispute for a percentage of any recovery. Because the agreement was never reduced to a signed writing stating the percentage and expense allocation, the fee arrangement was unenforceable.
A structure qualifies as a dwelling only after occupants have moved in and begun using it regularly for sleeping. Before that point it is not a dwelling even if a contract exists.
Risk passes to the buyer at the moment a binding contract is formed, which occurs before closing or deed delivery in most jurisdictions.
Executive power vests upon taking the oath at the start of the four-year term, which occurs after the electoral process concludes but before any subsequent actions.
Yes. On timely request a party remains entitled to be heard on the propriety of the notice even if the court announced the fact before notifying the party.
A judge must require lawyers to refrain from bias or harassment based on protected attributes whenever such conduct appears before the court.
The agreement must be in a signed writing that states the percentage, expense treatment, and client liability before any recovery is obtained.
…and then back to the Secretary's office where the seal was affixed. Commissions were not usually delivered from the office before they were recorded though sometimes they were. He believed none of those commissions were ever sent out or delivered to the persons for whom they were intended and did not know what became…