Simple English definitions for legal terms
Read a random definition: taking of hostages
Thimblerig: A game where someone hides a small ball under one of three thimbles and shuffles them around. The player has to guess which thimble the ball is under. It's like the shell game.
Thing: Something that someone owns, like a toy or a book. There are three types of things: things you can touch, like a toy or a book (called corporeal things); things you can't touch, like a song or a patent (called incorporeal things); and things that are both, like a house or a car (called real things).
Thimblerig is another term for the shell game, which is a type of gambling game where a small ball or pea is hidden under one of three shells or cups, and the player must guess which one it is under after the shells are shuffled around. The game is often used to cheat people out of their money.
Thin capitalization refers to a situation where a company has a high level of debt compared to its equity. This can be a problem because if the company experiences financial difficulties, it may not have enough assets to pay off its debts. For example, if a company has $1 million in assets and $900,000 in debt, it is said to be thinly capitalized.
A thin corporation is a company that has few assets or employees and is often used as a shell company for tax or legal purposes. For example, a company may set up a thin corporation in a tax haven to avoid paying taxes in their home country.
A thing is any object or item that can be owned by someone. There are three categories of things: real or immovable things like land, personal or movable things like cars or furniture, and things that have both real and personal characteristics like a title deed. An example of a thing would be a car that someone owns.