Also known as: nil · nothing
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The state of nonexistence or the complete absence of any thing or quantity.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Nolan Nunez agreed to sell widgets to Norton Bank without mentioning any price in the written contract. The parties intended to form a binding agreement despite the omission. A court therefore supplies a reasonable price at the time of delivery to complete the contract.
Nyah Ndlovu forged a deed purporting to transfer land to Nimbus Cloud. The true owner never signed or authorized the document. Because the deed is void, Nimbus Cloud acquires nothing and cannot pass good title even to a later purchaser.
Nia Nkosi sought a building permit from the coastal commission. The agency demanded she dedicate a public easement across her lot as a condition. The Supreme Court held the condition invalid because it bore no nexus to the permitted construction.
Nigel Nelson sued in federal court under diversity jurisdiction. The court applied federal procedural rules but looked to state substantive law for the elements of the claim. Nothing in federal common law supplied an independent rule of decision.
Nikhil Narayan owned Grand Central Terminal. New York City designated the building a landmark and blocked a proposed tower addition. The Supreme Court upheld the restriction because it did not deny all economically viable use of the property.
Neil Nair purchased land for industrial use. The village enacted a zoning ordinance that restricted the property to residential development. The Supreme Court sustained the ordinance because it bore a substantial relation to public health and safety.
It means nothing or the complete absence of any thing or quantity. Legal texts frequently use the word to express the lack of a required element or the nullity of an act.
The parties may still form a binding contract. The court supplies a reasonable price at the time of delivery under the governing statute.
A forged deed is void and conveys no title. The forger acquires nothing that can be passed to subsequent purchasers.
…that if Mr. Lincoln wished time to consider his answers they would give it, but they had no doubt he ought to answer. There was nothing confidential required to be disclosed; if there had been, he was not obliged to answer it; nor was he obliged to state anything which would criminate himself; but the fact whether such…