A common law marriage, also known as a non-ceremonial marriage, is a legal framework that may allow couples to be considered married without having formally registered their union as either a civil or religious marriage. While common law is not common among the U.S., there are a number of...
Jessica is a practicing attorney and has taught law and has a J.D. and LL.M.Cite this lesson Common law relies upon particular cases, and sometimes prior decisions, instead of statutes, when deciding a case. Learn more about the definition of common law and read some examples demonstrating...
Common law is a legal system that is largely formed by the decisions previously made by courts and not imposed by legislatures or other government officials. The reasoning used to interpret this type of law is known as casuistry, or case-based reasoning. It is a strict, principle-based ...
“Common law” refers to laws which come from court decisions, rather than laws that are created by statutes. A common law trademark is therefore atrademarkwhich is protected by such court-created law, rather than a statute. Most states in the U.S. have statutes which allow for the registr...
Understanding Common Law A precedent, known as stare decisis, is a history of judicial decisions which form the basis of evaluation for future cases. Common law, also known as case law, is built upon precedent. An important characteristic of common law is that each judge considers the facts...
One of the most intractable bits of legal misinformation is the belief that after seven years of living together (also known as cohabitation), an unmarried couple becomes subject to “common law marriage.” There are a number of reasons why this is inaccurate. Origins of Common Law Marriage Th...
Common law couples don’t attend a ceremony or complete official documentation, yet they have the same legal rights and responsibilities as traditionally wed spouses. Contrary to popular belief, however, living together for a set amount of time isn’t sufficient to establish a common law marriage...
Lawyers should carefully consider whether to incorporate a choice of law provision into the contract at the time of drafting. They should also be careful when they choose a jurisdiction to bring a contract dispute. Because the rules vary in each state, these considerations can have a large impac...
What is a common carrier in business law? Carriers: Carriers deliver either goods or people. Examples include the aviation industry, railways, transportation systems like transit systems, and the shipping industry. Carriers are essential for the functioning of several other essential industries, like ...
common-law employment contractlabour legislationgood faithfairnessimplied duty of trust and confidenceimplied duty of fair dealingconstitutional development of the common lawright to fair labour practicesbreach of employment contractThis piece, which is in three parts, will revisit the importation of ...