Fraud: Dishonest conduct designed to persuade another person to give something of value by lying, repeating something that is or ought to have been known by the fraudulent party to be false or suspect, or by concealing a relevant fact from the other party. Fraud allows a court to void a contract or to set aside a judgment, and can result in criminal liability. A person who defrauds creditors of a company may be held personally liable.

Freehold: Right to the full use of real property for ever (as opposed to leaseholds or tenancies, which allow possession for a limited time). Varieties of freehold include fee simple, fee tail and life estate.

Freeholder: Person who owns freehold property rights.

Garnishee: Person who owes a third party a debt which is attached by court order for the benefit of a judgment creditor.

Goodwill: Intangible business asset based on the good reputation of a business and resulting attraction and confidence of repeat customers and connections. Part of the sale price of a business may be for goodwill, in which case the seller may not solicit former customers for his new business.

Gross negligence: Act or omission in reckless disregard of the consequences for the safety or property of another more than simple carelessness or neglect. Gross negligence by an employee may justify summary dismissal.

Guarantor: Person who pledges collateral for another”s contract.

Hearsay: Evidence of which a witness does not have direct knowledge from his own senses but which is based on what others have said. Hearsay evidence is normally only admissible in court proceedings to show that a statement was made, not to prove the truth of the contents of the statement.

High Court: Court above the Circuit Court with full jurisdiction to decide all matters of law and fact. High Court judges – male and female – are normally addressed as “My Lord”.

In pari delicto: (Latin: equally at fault) If two parties are equally to blame for a situation (such as both failing to comply with the terms of a contract), a court could refuse to provide a remedy to either of them because they are in pari delicto.