Also known as: abides · abided · abiding · comply with · obey
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
To fulfill an obligation to obey a statute, rule, judicial order, or contractual directive. The obligation arises when a party is subject to a specific legal command and must follow it without deviation to avoid liability or sanctions.
Aisha Ahmed drove her delivery van through a busy intersection at twice the posted speed limit during rush hour. She saw the red light but consciously chose to accelerate anyway, striking a pedestrian in the crosswalk. Her conduct failed to abide by the standard a law-abiding driver would follow in the same situation.
Audrey Ashton, a sitting judge, accepted a campaign contribution from a litigant appearing before her the next week. She then presided over the case without disclosure or recusal. Her actions did not abide by the requirement that judges comply with the Code of Judicial Conduct at all times.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Angela Acosta instructed her attorney to reject a settlement offer and proceed to trial on her contract claim. The attorney instead negotiated a reduced settlement without further consultation and presented it as a fait accompli. The attorney did not abide by the client's decisions concerning the objectives of the representation.
Antonio Alvarado orally agreed to sell his farmland to Austin Abbott and allowed Abbott to build a barn and install irrigation on the property. Abbott spent substantial sums in reliance on the deal. A court may specifically enforce the transfer even without a writing because Abbott changed position in reasonable reliance that Alvarado would abide by the agreement.
Amber Alonzo conveyed a parcel subject to an oral promise that the buyer would maintain a shared driveway easement for the benefit of Alonzo's retained lot. No writing satisfied the Statute of Frauds. The burden of the servitude is not enforceable because the transaction did not abide by the writing requirement for creating servitudes.
A detainee faced charges before a military commission established by executive order. The commission procedures denied counsel access to evidence and failed to establish required jurisdictional facts. The commission could not proceed because its structure did not abide by the limitations Congress placed on such tribunals.
The lawyer must consult with the client about means and then follow the client's choices on settlement, pleas, and whether to testify. Failure to do so violates the duty to abide by those decisions even if the lawyer believes a different course would produce a better result.
The inquiry compares the actor's disregard of risk to the conduct a law-abiding person would observe given the same circumstances and purpose. A gross deviation from that standard means the actor has not abided by the required benchmark.
Enforcement is permitted when the party seeking specific performance has reasonably relied on the contract and the continuing assent of the other party and has so changed position that injustice can be avoided only by enforcement.
…precedents is that the right to personal choice regarding marriage is inherent in the concept of individual autonomy. This abiding connection between marriage and liberty is why Loving invalidated interracial marriage bans under the Due Process Clause. See 388 U.S., at 12. Decisions about marriage are among the most…