Legal Glossary - R
Browse the Lawyers Glossary Letter R
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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 rainmaker
A lawyer who drums up a lot of business for a law firm by bringing in clients.
reading on
In patent law, describing literally. A patent is infringed if the patent's claims read on all elements of the infringing device.
reaffirmation
An agreement that a debtor and a creditor enter into after a debtor has filed for bankruptcy, in which the debtor agrees to repay all or part of an existing debt after the bankruptcy case is over. For instance, a debtor might make a reaffirmation agreement with the holder of a car note that the debtor can keep the car and must continue to pay the debt after bankruptcy.
real estate
Land and the property permanently attached to it, such as buildings, houses, stationary mobile homes, fences and trees. In legalese, real estate is also called real property.
real estate agent
A foot soldier of the real estate business who shows houses and does most of the other nitty-gritty tasks associated with selling real estate. An agent must have a state license and be supervised by a real estate broker. Most agents are completely dependent upon commissions from sellers for their income, so it pays to find out which side the agent represents (buyer, seller or both) before you place too much trust in the agent's opinion.
real estate broker
A real estate professional one step up from a real estate agent. A broker has more training and can supervise agents, but its still worth examining his or her loyalties.
real property
Another term for real estate. It includes land and things permanently attached to the land, such as trees, buildings, and stationary mobile homes. Anything that is not real property is termed personal property.
recording
The process of filing a copy of a deed or other document concerning real estate with the land records office for the county in which the land is located. Recording creates a public record of changes in ownership of all property in the state.
recusal
A situation in which a judge or prosecutor is removed or steps down from a case. This often happens when the judge or prosecutor has a conflict of interest -- for example, a prior relationship with one of the parties.
red herring
A legal or factual issue that is irrelevant to the case at hand.
redaction
The act of going over a document with a fine-toothed comb in order to find any ambiguities or areas that are not to your advantage.
redemption
In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, when the debtor obtains legal title to collateral for a debt by paying the creditor the replacement value of the collateral in a lump sum. For example, a debtor may redeem a car note by paying the lender the amount a retail vendor would charge for the car, considering its age and condition.
reformation
The act of changing a written contract when one of the parties can prove that the actual agreement was different than what's written down. The changes are usually made by a court when both parties overlooked a mistake in the document, or when one party has deceived the other.
refugee
In the context of U.S. immigration law, people who have been allowed to live in the United States indefinitely to protect them from persecution in their home countries. Refugees get their status before coming to the U.S., while asylum seekers obtain their status after arrival. Refugees may eventually get green cards.
remainderman
Someone who will inherit property in the future. For instance, if someone dies and leaves his home "to Alma for life, and then to Barry," Barry is a remainderman because he will inherit the home in the future, after Alma dies.
removal
A legal proceeding, commonly known as "deportation," that is conducted before a special immigration judge to decide whether or not an immigrant will be allowed to enter or remain in the country. While, generally speaking, a person who is already in the U.S. cannot be expelled without first going through a removal hearing, someone arriving at the border or a port of entry can be forced to leave without a hearing or ever seeing a judge. Those who are deported are barred from returning to the United States for at least five years unless the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) grants a special waiver.
rent control
Laws that limit the amount of rent landlords may charge, and that state when and by how much the rent can be raised. Most rent control laws also require a landlord to provide a good reason, such as repeatedly late rent, for evicting a tenant. Rent control exists in some cities and counties in California, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Washington, D.C.
replacement value
What it would cost to buy a particular item from a retail vendor, considering its age and condition -- for instance, to buy a car from a used car dealer, furniture from a used furniture shop,or electronic equipment on eBay.
replevin
A type of legal action where the owner of movable goods is given the right to recover them from someone who shouldn’t have them. Replevin is often used in disputes between buyers and sellers -- for example a seller might bring a replevin action to reclaim goods from a buyer who failed to pay for them.
repossession
A creditor's taking property that has been pledged as collateral for a loan. Lenders will most often repossess cars when the owner has missed loan payments and has not attempted to work with the lender to resolve the problem. A repossessor can't use force to get at your car, but he can legally hot-wire it and even drive it out of your unlocked garage.
request for admission
A discovery procedure, authorized by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the court rules of many states, in which one party asks an opposing party to admit that certain facts are true. If the opponent admits the facts or fails to respond in a timely manner, the facts will be deemed true for purposes of trial. A request for admission is called a "request to admit" in many states.
request to admit
See request for admission.
res ipsa loquitur
A Latin term meaning "the thing speaks for itself." Res ipsa loquitur is a legal doctrine or rule of evidence that creates a presumption that a defendant acted negligently simply because a harmful accident occurred. The presumption arises only if (1) the thing that caused the accident was under the defendant's control, (2) the accident could happen only as a result of a careless act and, (3) the plaintiff's behavior did not contribute to the accident. Lawyers often refer to this doctrine as "res ips" or "res ipsa."
res nova
Latin for "a new thing," used by courts to describe an issue of law or case that has not previously been decided.
residuary beneficiary
A person who receives any property by a will or trust that is not specifically left to another designated beneficiary. For example, if Antonio makes a will leaving his home to Edwina and the remainder of his property to Elmo, then Elmo is the residuary beneficiary.
residuary estate
The property that remains in a deceased person's estate after all specific gifts are made, and all debts, taxes, administrative fees, probate costs, and court costs are paid. The residuary estate also includes any gifts under a will that fail or lapse. For example, Connie's will leaves her house and all its furnishings to Andrew, her VW bug to her friend Carl, and the remainder of her property (the residuary estate) to her sister Sara. She doesn’t name any alternate beneficiaries. Carl dies before Connie. The VW bug becomes part of the residuary estate and passes to Sara, along with all of Connie's property other than the house and furnishings. Also called the residual estate or residue.
residue
See residuary estate.
respondent
A term used instead of defendant or appellee in some states -- especially for divorce and other family law cases -- to identify the party who is sued and must respond to the petitioner's complaint.
response
See answer.
responsive pleadings
See answer.
restraining order
An order from a court directing one person not to do something, such as make contact with another person, enter the family home or remove a child from the state. Restraining orders are typically issued in cases in which spousal abuse or stalking is feared -- or has occurred -- in an attempt to ensure the victim's safety. Restraining orders are also commonly issued to cool down ugly disputes between neighbors.
restraint on alienation
A provision in a deed or will that attempts to restrict ownership of the property -- for example, selling your house to your daughter with the provision that it never be sold to anyone outside the family. These provisions are generally unenforceable.
retainer
A fee paid in advance to a lawyer to secure her services. It acts as a down payment, ensuring that the lawyer won't get stiffed and that the client will be represented.
retirement benefits
Under the Social Security system, an amount of money available to those who reach age 62 -- equivalent to a small percentage of worklife earnings. For a single person first claiming retirement benefits in 1997, the average monthly benefit was about $750; $1,250 for a couple. A single person with a high earnings record claiming retirement benefits in 1997 at age 65 would receive about $1,250 per month; $1,800 for a couple. These benefits increase yearly with the cost of living -- and the amount is higher the longer a person waits to claim the benefit, up to age 70.
rhadamanthine
A term used to describe a hard-nosed judge, inflexible in the application of the law.
right of representation
See per stirpes.
right of survivorship
The right of a surviving joint tenant to take ownership of a deceased joint tenant's share of the property. See joint tenancy.
right to cancel (a contract)
See cooling-off rules.
rollover
A delayed tax that allows you to apply the profit you make selling your old house to pay for the new one without paying capital gains taxes on the profit. In order to rollover the profits, the new house must be more expensive than the old and the two sales must occur within two years of each other.
rule against perpetuities
An exceedingly complex legal doctrine that limits the amount of time that property can be controlled after death by a person's instructions in a will. For example, a person would not be allowed to leave property to her husband for his life, then to her children for their lives, then to her grandchildren. The gift would potentially go to the grandchildren at a point too remote in time.
rule of doubt
The rule under which the U.S. Copyright Office allows object code to be deposited in connection with a computer program registration. The rule of doubt means there is an express understanding that doubt exists as to whether the code qualifies for copyright protection should litigation later occur. In essence, the U.S. Copyright Office is saying, "We will let you deposit object code, but since we can't read or understand it, we won't commit ourselves as to its copyrightability." If the registration is accomplished under the rule of doubt, the copyright owner may be unable to claim the presumption of ownership -- an important benefit of registration -- should the issue end up in court because of an alleged copyright infringement.
ruling
Any decision a judge makes during the course of a lawsuit.
running with the land
A phrase used in property law to describe a right or duty that remains with a piece of property no matter who owns it. For example, the duty to allow a public beach access path across waterfront property would most likely pass from one owner of the property to the next.
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