business law

Definition

A quorum is the minimum number of members of a group or committee required to be in attendance in order for that group to be able to take official action.  Groups that often have quorum requirements include legislative bodies, corporate boards of directors, and corporate shareholder meetings.  

Definition

Assent to the terms of an offer.  Acceptance must be judged objectively, but can either be expressly stated or implied by the offeree's conduct.  To form a binding contract, acceptance should be relayed in a manner authorized, requested, or at least reasonably expected by the offeror.  

Sometimes, when a party owes others legal duties, the party posts a surety bond to guarantee their performance. The surety bond is like a security deposit, with the party promising to do something as the renter and person they owe obligations to, or obligee, is like the landlord. Thus, if the party that made the promise fails to perform their duty, the obligee is compensated out of the bond. 

Definition

An agent authorized to act on behalf of another person, but not necessarily authorized to practice law, e.g. a person authorized to act by a power of attorney. An attorney in fact is a fiduciary. Also known as attorney-in-fact or private attorney.

For example, Person A might give a power of attorney to Person B that allows Person B to manage Person A's bank accounts. In this example, Person A is the principal, and Person B is the attorney in fact.

Definition

A term in a loan agreement that requires the borrower to pay off the loan immediately under certain conditions.

Originally prepared by Deepa Sarkar of the Cornell Law School Securities Law Clinic.

Originally prepared by Deepa Sarkar of the Cornell Law School Securities Law Clinic.

Originally prepared by Deepa Sarkar of the Cornell Law School Securities Law Clinic.