All Legal Terms by letter P

Pain and Suffering Damages :- In civil cases, "Pain and Suffering" is an element of damages for which the injured party may claim money compensation. The loss of a person's physical ability, such as the loss of the use of a hand, foot or eye, cannot occur without pain and physical discomfort. These losses, or damages, are entitled to compensation from the defendant. In some jurisdictions, pain and suffering includes emotional pain, such as worry, anxiety, embarrassment, in addition to the direct pain caused by the physical injury itself. It may even cover the loss of a person's pleasure and enjoyment of life caused by the defendant's wrongful conduct.

Palimony :- In the nature of alimony between divorced persons, palimony is an award of periodic money payments made by a court from one person to another after they have lived together, or cohabitated, for a period of time and dependence exists.

Par Value :- The face value, or issue value, of stock or security.

Par-Value Stock :- Par-Value Stock refers to the share value pegged by the stock's nominal value, as set by a corporation's articles of incorporation. This is the amount of the stock as printed on the face of the stock certificate.

Paralegal :- A person qualified by education, training or experience, to perform substantive legal work involving knowledge of legal concepts.

Partition :- In real property issues, this is a civil action brought by one co-tenant against another co-tenant for a judicial determination of interests and an order to divide their interests in the co-owned property and for compensation. Afterwards, the interests in the property are individually owned.

Partnership :- A partnership is a form of business enterprise. A partnership exists where there is a voluntary association of two or more persons engaged together for the purpose of doing business as a partnership, for profit. Partnerships are assumed to exist where the partners actually share profits and losses proportionately, even though there may not be a written partnership agreement signed between the partners. In cases of partnership creation, most lawyers will advise their clients to have a written partnership agreement in place.

Party :- A litigant, or a person involved as a principal in a lawsuit.

Patent :- A patent is a grant of a property right issued by the government's patent office to the inventor or creator of a new invention. The life term of a patent is twenty years from the date on which the patent application is filed. Patents may be renewed for additional periods of patent protection.

Patent and Trademark Office :- Agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce charged with examining patent and copyright applications and ultimately issues patents and registers trademarks. For a more complete summary on this term please see the article at Legal Term Topics and Issues - Patent Law.

Patent Pending :- This is the state of the patent during the time the Department of Commerce is considering whether to approve the application and issue a patent. Patent protection exists during the period of consideration if the patent is ultimately issued. If no patent issues, no protection is afforded for the period the application was pending. For a more complete summary on this term please see the article at Legal Term Topics and Issues - Patent Law.

Payroll Taxes :- In order to guarantee individuals have money to pay their taxes when they are actually due, and to avoid back tax and tax penalty problems, the federal tax code provides that employers can deduct from wages and salary due the employee sufficient money to pay that persons tax liability. Payroll taxes are based on deductions claimed by the taxpayer and the tax rate. Payroll tax software is necessary in firms of any size at all. Payroll taxes also include employer made deductions for social security tax. Funds withheld by the employer must be kept in what is called a Treasury Tax and Loan Account. Those who are self-employed must pre-pay, in effect, an amount based on the estimated tax that will be due. Estimated taxes must be paid in four annual installments.

Pecuniary :- Money or relating to money. A person with a money interest in a fund of some type may be said to have a pecuniary interest. Profit is a pecuniary gain.

Pension :- Periodic payments made after retirement from an occupation.

Peremptory Challenge :- The automatically allowed striking of a few prospective jurors during the jury selection process. Both sides get the same number. Strikes after all peremptory challenges must then be for cause.

Performance :- In contract law, performance occurs when the specific contractual duty or obligation is complete and futher performance is no longer required.

Perjury :- The crime of lying under oath. Specifically, to be guilty, the lie must be on a material issue in the case the false testimony is offered on.

Permanent Resident :- An immigration status that allows a person to live permanently in the US and to travel in and out of the country without a visa, to work at any job, and to accumulate time toward qualifying for US citizenship.

Personal Injury :- The area of civil law practice that deals with injuries to persons.

Personal Property :- Tangible property, things, not land.

Personal Representative :- The person or entity that is charged by the court with managing a decedent's estate.
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Personalty :- This is another word for personal property. The opposite of realty.

Petition :- The initial pleading by the claimant in a civil case. This document is filed with the court and served by summons on the defendant, who must respond by filing an answer within the time allowed .