Legal terms starting with M

Federal law requiring clear warranty disclosures and limiting warranty disclaimers for consumer products.

An offer is accepted the moment the acceptance is mailed, not when received.

The intentional desire to cause harm or the reckless disregard for the consequences of one's actions.

State and federal regulations governing the possession, sale, and use of cannabis.

A federal tax benefit allowing unlimited transfer of property between spouses without estate or gift tax.

A significant change to a contract or document that affects its meaning or enforceability.

A significant failure to perform a contract obligation that defeats its core purpose.

A fact that significantly affects a party's rights, obligations, or decision-making in a contract.

Whether a fact or breach is important enough to affect the contract's core purpose or value.

A dispute resolution process where a neutral third party (mediator) helps the parties negotiate and reach their own settlement agreement.

Both parties share the same understanding of a contract's essential terms.

The guilty mind or criminal intent required to establish most crimes.

Lacking the mental ability to understand a contract's nature, terms, or consequences.

A person or business that regularly buys and sells goods of a particular kind.

A contract statement that the written agreement supersedes all prior negotiations and understandings.

The lowest hourly wage an employer is legally required to pay employees.

A person who has not reached the legal age of adulthood, usually 18.

A small or technical failure to perform that doesn't defeat the contract's main purpose.

People under the legal age of adulthood who generally cannot be bound by contracts.

Rights that police must inform a suspect of before custodial interrogation, including the right to remain silent and right to counsel.

The principle that an acceptance must match the offer exactly, or it becomes a counteroffer instead.

A less serious crime punishable by up to one year in jail and/or fines.

A false statement of fact made to induce someone into a contract.

A misunderstanding or error by one or both parties about a fact in a contract.

A misunderstanding about something that actually exists or happened, rather than about the law itself.

A misunderstanding about what the law says or requires, not about factual circumstances.

A trial that is declared invalid and must be restarted.

A duty to reduce or minimize losses caused by the other party's breach.

A duty to take reasonable steps to minimize losses caused by another party's breach.

A change to a contract made by the parties after it's already in effect.

The reason or desire that prompts someone to commit a crime.

Both parties agree to the same contract terms at the same time.

Both parties freely agree to the same terms of a contract without pressure or misunderstanding.

Both parties are wrong about a basic fact when they sign a contract.

Both parties agreeing to cancel a contract and release each other from all obligations.