Simple English definitions for legal terms
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Term: FORTUITOUS
Definition: Fortuitous means something that happens by chance. It can be good or bad, but it is not planned. People often use it to mean lucky, but that is not always the case.
Definition: Occurring by chance.
A fortuitous event may be either fortunate or unfortunate. The term is often misused as a synonym for fortunate, but it is actually neutral.
These examples illustrate the definition of fortuitous because both winning the lottery and getting into a car accident are events that occur by chance. However, winning the lottery is typically seen as fortunate, while getting into a car accident is unfortunate. This shows that fortuitous does not necessarily mean lucky or unlucky, but simply refers to events that happen by chance.