Also known as: languages · wording · terms · text
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The words or text appearing in a legal instrument or statute, as opposed to its underlying purpose or spirit.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Leo Lynch sold property to Lorenzo Lugo under a contract requiring the seller to repair the roof before closing. At closing the deed contained no reference to roof repairs. After closing a storm damaged the roof and Lugo sued for breach of the contract term. The language of the deed controlled under the merger doctrine and discharged the unembodied promise.
Leah Lamb told her sister the day before her death that she intended to change her will to favor her nephew. The statement was offered to prove her intent regarding the will's terms. The language of the statement expressed then-existing intent and fell within the state-of-mind exception.
Lattice Systems filed articles using the name Lattice Systems LLC. The secretary of state rejected the filing because the language failed to include corporation, incorporated, company, or limited or an approved abbreviation. The organizers amended the name to Lattice Systems Inc. and the filing was accepted.
Lamar Lewis, a lawyer, agreed to lend money to client Lucia Lopez secured by her business assets. The written disclosure stated the interest rate and repayment schedule in plain language. Lopez signed the document after receiving it and the transaction satisfied the fairness and disclosure requirement.
Latoya Lane conveyed Blackacre to her brother Lamar Lewis for the life of their mother. The deed language expressly limited the estate to the duration of the mother's life. The conveyance created a life estate rather than a fee simple because the words measured the interest by a human life.
Lotus Pharmaceuticals signed an unwritten lease with Lakewood Manufacturing for warehouse space. Lakewood took possession and paid monthly rent that Lakewood accepted. The language of the parties' conduct created a month-to-month periodic tenancy under the statute of frauds exception.
The language of the deed becomes the sole measure of the grantor's obligations once the buyer accepts the deed. Promises not reflected in that language are discharged unless they fall within an exception such as fraud or collateral agreements.
The language must express the declarant's then-existing intent, plan, or physical condition. Statements of memory or belief offered to prove the fact remembered are excluded unless they concern the terms of the declarant's will.
…state interests in regulation. IV The appellee and certain amici argue that the fetus is a "person" within the language and meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment. In support of this, they outline at length and in detail the well-known facts of fetal development. If this suggestion of personhood is established,…
…extent of psychological knowledge at the time of Plessy v. Ferguson , this finding is amply supported by modern authority. Any language
…had been omitted, and the provision was simply that property should not be taken without compensation, the natural import of the language
…was not made. Distinctions between actions in rem and those in personam are ancient and originally expressed in procedural terms
…(1969). We reverse. I We think that the question of whether a cause of action exists is not answered by citation to the
The language must include corporation, incorporated, company, limited, or an approved abbreviation such as corp., inc., co., or ltd. Words or abbreviations of like import in another language are also permitted.
The language must state that the transaction and its terms are fair and reasonable to the client and must be transmitted in writing in a manner reasonably understandable by the client.
The language must specifically describe the duration in terms of the life or lives of one or more human beings and must not be terminable at a fixed or computable period.
Possession taken together with rent paid and accepted under the lease terms creates a periodic tenancy with all lease terms except duration, even if the original lease language failed the statute of frauds.