Simple English definitions for legal terms
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The borrowed-statutes doctrine is a rule that says if one state copies a law from another state, the courts in the new state must follow any previous court decisions made about that law in the original state. This means that the new state cannot interpret the law differently from the original state. A borrower is someone who receives money or something else that they have to return. A borrowing statute is a law that says a state must use its own time limit for legal cases, but there are some exceptions. A borsholder is an old term for a person who was in charge of a group of people or a constable.
The borrowed-statutes doctrine is a legal principle that states if one state adopts a statute identical to that of another state, any settled judicial construction of that statute by the courts of the other state is binding on the courts of the state that later enacts the statute.
For example, if State A adopts a statute identical to that of State B, and the courts of State B have already interpreted and applied that statute in a certain way, the courts of State A must also interpret and apply the statute in the same way.
A borrowing statute is a legislative exception to the conflict-of-laws rule holding that a forum state must apply its own statute of limitations. A borrowing statute specifies the circumstances in which a forum state will apply another state's statute of limitations.
For instance, if a person is injured in State A and wants to file a lawsuit, but the statute of limitations in State A has expired, they may try to file the lawsuit in State B, where the statute of limitations has not yet expired. However, if State B has a borrowing statute that requires it to apply State A's statute of limitations in this situation, the person's lawsuit may be dismissed.