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Legal Dictionary T
Taft-Hartley :
The name of an American federal labor law which was passed in 1947,
and which sought to "equalize legal responsibilities of labor
organizations and employers"; ie. balance the Wagner Act, which, it was
felt, may have gone to far in protecting union rights. Where the Wagner
Act had was aimed primarily at employer behavior, the Taft-Hartley was
aimed at unions and sought to restrain their activities under certain
circumstances, by detailing union rights and duties. For example, the
Taft-Hartley Act exempted supervisors from it's provisions, allowed
employees to decline participation in union activities and permitted
union decertification petitions.
Tamper :
To interfere improperly or in violation of the law such as to tamper
with a document. The term "jury tampering" means to illegally disrupt
the independence of a jury member with a view to influencing that juror
otherwise than by the production of evidence in open court.
Tenancy by the entireties :
A form of co-ownership in English law where, when a husband
transferred land to his wife, the property could not be sold unless both
spouses agreed nor could it be severed except by ending the marriage.
Tenant :
A person to whom a landlord grants temporary and exclusive use of
land or a part of a building, usually in exchange for rent. The contract
for this type of legal arrangement is called a lease. The word "tenant"
originated under the feudal system, referring to land "owners" who held
their land on tenure granted by a lord.
Tenants :
in common Similar to joints tenants. All tenants in common share
equal property rights except that, upon the death of a tenant in common,
that share does not go to the surviving tenants but is transferred to
the estate of the deceased tenant. Unity of possession but distinct
titles.
Tender :
An unconditional offer of a party to a contract to perform their
part of the bargain. For example, if the contract is a loan contract, a
tender would be an act of the debtor where he produces the amount owing
and offers to the creditor. In real property law, when a party suspects
that the other may be preparing to renege, he or she can write a tender
in which they unequivocally re-assert their intention to respect the
contract and tender their end of the bargain; either by paying the
purchase or delivering the title.
Tenement :
Property that could be subject to tenure under English land law;
usually land, buildings or apartments. The word is rarely used nowadays
except to refer to dominant or servient tenements when qualifying
easements.
Tenure :
A right of holding or occupying land or a position for a certain
amount of time. The term was first used in the English feudal land
system, whereby all land belonged to the king but was lent out to lords
for a certain period of time; the lord never owning, but having tenure
in the land. Used in modern law mostly to refer to a position a person
occupies such as in the expression "a judge holds tenure for life and on
good behavior."
Testamentary trust :
A trust which is to take effect only upon the death of the settlor
and is commonly found as part of a will. Trusts which take effect during
the life of the settlor are called inter vivos trusts.
Testator :
A person who dies with a valid will.
Testimony :
The verbal presentation of a witness in a judicial proceeding.
Torrens land registration
system :
A land registration system invented by Robert Torrens and in which
the government is the keeper of the master record of all land and their
owners. In the Torrens system, a land title certificate suffices to show
full, valid and indefeasible title. Used in Australia and several
Canadian provinces.
Tort :
Derived from the Latin word tortus which meant wrong. In French,
"tort" means a wrong". Tort refers to that body of the law which will
allow an injured person to obtain compensation from the person who
caused the injury. Every person is expected to conduct themselves
without injuring others. When they do so, either intentionally or by
negligence, they can be required by a court to pay money to the injured
party ("damages") so that, ultimately, they will suffer the pain cause
by their action. Tort also serves as a deterrent by sending a message to
the community as to what is unacceptable conduct.
Tort-feasor :
Name given to a person or persons who have committed a tort.
Tracing :
A legal proceeding taken under the law of equity where the plaintiff
attempts to reclaim specific property, through the court, whether the
property is still in the first acquirer's hands or it has passed onto
others, and even if the property has been converted (related common law
terms: conversion, trover and detinue). This is a procedure frequently
used by a trust beneficiary to recover misappropriated trust property.
Transferee :
A person who receives property being transferred (the person from
whom the property is moving is the transferor).
Transferor :
A person from whom property moves. Property is transferred from the
transferor to the transferor. I sell you my house and in transferring
title to you, I am the transferor and you, the transferee.
Treaty :
A formal agreement between two states signed by official
representatives of each state. A treaty may be "law-making" in that it
is the declared intention of the signatories to make or amend their
internal laws to give effect to the treaty. The Berne Convention is an
example of such as treaty. Other treaties are just contracts between the
signatories to conduct themselves in a certain way or to do a certain
thing. These latter type of treaties are usually private to two or a
limited number of states and may be binding only through the
International Court of Justice.
Trespass :
Unlawful interference with another's person, property or rights.
Theoretically, all torts are trespasses.
Tribunal
Latin: a platform for magistrates, a court or forum of justice that
decides or determines.
Trover :
An old English and common law legal proceeding against a person who
had found someone else's property and has converted that property to
their own purposes. The action of trover did not ask for the return of
the property but for damages in an amount equal to the replacement value
of the property. English law replaced the action of trover with that of
conversion in 1852.
Trust :
Property given by a person called the donor or settlor, to a
trustee, for the benefit of another person (the beneficiary or donee).
The trustee manages and administers the property, actual ownership is
shared between the trustee and the beneficiary and all the profits go to
the beneficiary. The word "fiduciary" can be used to describe the
responsibilities of the trustee towards the beneficiary. A will is a
form of trust but trusts can be formed during the lifetime of the
settlor in which case it is called an inter vivos or living trust.
Trustee :
The person who holds property rights for the benefit of another
through the legal mechanism of the trust. A trustee usually has full
management and administration rights over the property but these rights
must always be exercised to the full advantage of the beneficiary. All
profits from the property go to the beneficiary although the trustee is
entitled to reimbursement for administrative costs. There is no legal
impediment for a trustee to also be a beneficiary of the same property.
Trustee de son tort :
A trustee "of his own wrong"; a person who is not a regularly
appointed trustee but because of his or her intermeddling with the trust
and the exercise of some control over the trust property, can be held by
a court as "constructive" trustee which entails liability for losses to
the trust.
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