Also known as: businesses · commerce · trade
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A commercial enterprise or activity undertaken for profit. The term encompasses both the ongoing operations of such an enterprise and the individual transactions that advance those operations.
Bella Barnes regularly sleeps in the upstairs of a building she owns while operating a small retail shop on the ground floor. When an intruder breaks in at night to steal inventory, the structure retains its status as a dwelling because the business use does not eliminate the regular sleeping occupancy. The nighttime entry therefore satisfies the elements for burglary of a dwelling.
Blackwood Technologies ships components across state lines to customers in three states. Congress enacts a statute requiring safety certifications for such shipments. The company's cross-border shipments fall within the scope of congressional authority to regulate commerce among the states, allowing the statute to apply directly to its business activities.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Bay Area Systems is sued for product defects. Its initial disclosures must include any insurance policy under which an insurer may be required to pay a judgment or reimburse defense costs. The policy qualifies because it is issued by an insurance business that could become liable for the claimed damages.
Brandon Black regularly purchases electronics he knows are stolen and resells them through an online storefront. Because he operates as a receiver in the business of buying and selling stolen property, the thefts are graded as third-degree felonies regardless of the individual amounts involved.
Judge Belinda Baxter coordinates with the clerk's office to schedule hearings and manage case assignments. These tasks constitute administration of court business, requiring the judge to cooperate with other court officials to keep dockets current and proceedings orderly.
Bianca Blanco, an attorney, proposes to purchase a parcel of land from her client Bruce Baldwin. The transaction is a business transaction with a client, so Blanco must ensure the terms are fair, disclose them in writing, advise Baldwin to seek independent counsel, and obtain his informed written consent before proceeding.
A structure remains a dwelling if someone uses it regularly for sleeping even when occupants also conduct business there. Temporary absence does not change its character as a dwelling.
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The policy must be one under which an insurance business may be liable to satisfy all or part of a possible judgment or to indemnify or reimburse payments made to satisfy the judgment.
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Theft by receiving is a third-degree felony when the receiver is in the business of buying or selling stolen property, regardless of the amount involved in any single transaction.
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A judge must cooperate with other judges and court officials in the administration of court business to ensure competent and diligent performance of judicial and administrative duties.
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The transaction and its terms must be fair and reasonable to the client, fully disclosed in writing, the client must be advised in writing to seek independent counsel, and the client must give informed consent confirmed in writing.
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…objected to being sworn, alleging they were clerks in the Department of State and not bound to disclose facts relating to the business or transactions in the office. Mr. Lee observed that the Secretary of State's duties are of two kinds and he exercises functions in two distinct capacities: as a public ministerial officer…