An adjuster is an agent who handles insurance related claims commonly commissioned by an insurance company. The adjuster participates in the investigation and settlement of the claim. This agent is helpful, as it is commonly understood that...
accidents and injuries
admissible evidence
Admissible evidence is evidence that may be presented before the trier of fact (i.e., the judge or jury) for them to consider in deciding the case. Compare inadmissible evidence.
Rules of evidence determine what types of...
admission
An admission is a party's statement acknowledging that a certain statement or fact asserted against that party is true. In certain circumstances an admission can be made by silence. For example, silence after another party's assertion of a...
admission against interest
An admission against interest is as an out-of-court statement made by a party that is against their own pecuniary, proprietary, or penal interest, and that is admissible under both an exclusion (admission by a party-opponent) and an exception...
adverse interest
There are three main types of adverse interests.
An adverse interest can mean an interest, claim or right that is against another’s interest. For example, a plaintiff and defendant have adverse interests. A witness with...affirmative defense
An affirmative defense is a defense in which the defendant introduces evidence, which, if found to be credible, will negate criminal liability or civil liability, even if it is proven that the defendant committed the alleged acts. The party...
aggregation of jurisdictional amount
A party with multiple claims may wish to aggregate them to meet the jurisdictional amount (also known as amount in controversy) requirement for their desired court. The current amount in controversy requirement is $75,000. While this practice...
allegation
An allegation is defined as a claim of fact not yet proven to be true. In a lawsuit, a party puts forth their allegations in a complaint, indictment or affirmative defense, and then uses evidence at trial to attempt to prove their truth....
Allen charge
Allen charges (also referred to as dynamite, nitroglycerin, shotgun, or third-degree charges) refer to jury instructions given to a hung jury urging them to agree on a verdict. Allen charges are controversial as some claim they overly...
alternative pleading
Alternative pleading is a form of pleading that allows a party to allege two or more claims which are inconsistent with each other. Alternative pleading is fundamental to the United States court system.
During a lawsuit...