Category: US Courts Glossary

Contracts or leases under which both parties to the agreement have duties remaining to be performed. If a contract or lease is […]

Property that a debtor is allowed to retain, free from the claims of creditors who do not have liens on the property. […]

Certain property owned by an individual debtor that the Bankruptcy Code or applicable state law permits the debtor to keep from unsecured […]

An individual, individual and spouse, corporation, or partnership engaged in a farming operation that meets certain debt limits and other statutory criteria […]

A bankruptcy case filed either without schedules or with incomplete schedules listing few creditors and debts. (Face sheet filings are often made […]

A claim that may be owed by the debtor under certain circumstances, e.g., where the debtor is a cosigner on another person’s […]

An agreement between two or more people that creates an obligation to do or not to do a particular thing. Source: US […]

A judgment of guilt against a criminal defendant. Source: US Courts Glossary

Legal advice; a term also used to refer to the lawyers in a case. Source: US Courts Glossary

An allegation in an indictment or information, charging a defendant with a crime. An indictment or information may contain allegations that the […]

A person who makes a word-for-word record of what is said in court, generally by using a stenographic machine, shorthand or audio […]

Government entity authorized to resolve legal disputes. Judges sometimes use “court” to refer to themselves in the third person, as in “the […]

Generally refers to two events in individual bankruptcy cases: (1) the “individual or group briefing” from a nonprofit budget and credit counseling […]

A person to whom or business to which the debtor owes money or that claims to be owed money by the debtor. […]

Money that a defendant pays a plaintiff in a civil case if the plaintiff has won. Damages may be compensatory (for loss […]

Latin, meaning “in fact” or “actually.” Something that exists in fact but not as a matter of law. Source: US Courts Glossary

Latin, meaning “in law.” Something that exists by operation of law. Source: US Courts Glossary

Latin, meaning “anew.” A trial de novo is a completely new trial. Appellate review de novo implies no deference to the trial […]

A debtor’s detailed description of how the debtor proposes to pay creditors’ claims over a fixed period of time. Source: US Courts […]

A person who has filed a petition for relief under the Bankruptcy Code. Source: US Courts Glossary

A judge’s statement about someone’s rights. For example, a plaintiff may seek a declaratory judgment that a particular statute, as written, violates […]

A judgment awarding a plaintiff the relief sought in the complaint because the defendant has failed to appear in court or otherwise […]

An individual (or business) against whom a lawsuit is filed. Source: US Courts Glossary

An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, […]

A release of a debtor from personal liability for certain dischargeable debts. Notable exceptions to dischargeability are taxes and student loans. A […]