Glossary 459LoanMoney lent, usually in return for the payment
of interest.
Lord Justice of AppealA judge who sits in the
Court of Appeal, e.g. Laws LJ.
Magistrates’ courtCourt which tries less serious
criminal cases.
MediationA form of ADR under which a mediator
tries to bring the parties together to settle their
dispute.
Member of a companyA shareholder in a
company.
Member StatesStates which are members of the
EU.
Memorandum of associationA document needed
to register a company which gives basic information
about the company. This is a ‘historical snapshot’
which cannot later be altered.
Mens reaThe guilty state of mind which needs to
be proved before a person can be convicted of a
crime.
Mercantile agent(Also known as a factor.) An
agent in business to buy or sell goods who can, in
certain circumstances, pass ownership of another
person’s goods even when acting without authority
to do so.
MinorA person under 18 years of age. Minors do
not have full capacity to make contracts.
Minority shareholderA shareholder in a company
with less than 50 per cent of the shares which carry
voting rights.
Misrepresentation (actionable)An untrue
statement of fact which induced the making of a
contract. An actionable misrepresentation makes a
contract voidable.
Mistake (common)A mistake made by both of the
parties to a contract.
Mistake (unilateral)A mistake made by only one of
the parties to a contract.
Mischief ruleA rule of statutory interpretation
which allows a court to consider what mischief or
problem a statute sought to rectify.
MitigationThe duty to take reasonable steps to
reduce a loss caused by a tort or a breach of contract.
MortgageA form of security whereby property is
given as security for a debt. If the debt is not repaid
the property can be sold by the creditor who can
take what he is owed from the proceeds.Negligence (tort of)The most important tort.
Liability in negligence arises when a defendant who
owes a duty of care breaches that duty in such a
way that this causes a foreseeable type of damage.
Negligent misstatementA form of the tort of
negligence whereby a person in a special
relationship with another person can be liable on
account of statements made to that other person.
Nemo datrule (Nemo dat quod non habet.)The
general rule that a person who does not own goods
cannot pass ownership of those goods to another
person.
Net payThe amount of money which an employee
actually receives as pay, after deductions such as tax
have been made.
Net profitsThe profit which remains after all tax
and other lawful deductions have been made.
Nominal damagesDamages in name only. Token
damages, often 5p or £1.
Nominal sumA token (very small) sum of money.
Non est factumA kind of mistake which makes a
contract void because a person, who was not
careless, was completely mistaken about the nature
of what it was he or she signed.
Notice(1) Notification of a fact. (2) In employment,
the amount of time needed to notify either an
employer or an employee that the contract is to be
unilaterally ended.
Novus actus interveniensA new act intervening,
which breaks the chain of causation in tort.
NuisanceA tort. See public nuisanceand private
nuisance.
Obiter dicta(Literally, other things said.) A legal
principle which is part of a precedent-making
court’s decision but which cannot be binding as a
judicial precedent because it was not the ratio
decidendi.
Objects clauseA part of a company’s old-style
memorandum of associationwhich sets out the
contracts which the company has the capacity to
make. Since the Companies Act 2006 came into
force, newly formed companies no longer need to
register an objects clause.
Occupiers’ liabilityThe liability of occupiers of
premises owed both to lawful visitors to those
premises and to trespassers.
OffenceA crime.Z01_MACI4097_03_SE_GLOSS.QXD 1/31/11 3:01 PM Page 459