Also known as: divisa · divisibility · divisim · divisions · divisible · partition · severability
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An apportionment of liability, fees, property interests, or court filings among multiple parties or units according to their respective contributions, rights, or locations.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Darius Dixon retained separate counsel in two different firms to handle distinct phases of a personal injury suit. The lawyers agreed that one would receive sixty percent of the contingent fee because that lawyer performed the bulk of the discovery work while the other assumed joint responsibility for trial. The client confirmed the split in writing and the total fee remained reasonable under the circumstances.
David Dawson leased a warehouse to Danielle Dixon for a term beginning January 1 and ending December 31 of the following year. The lease fixed the duration in yearly units so that the estate would terminate automatically at the end of the stated period without any further notice.
Destiny Davis and Dustin Donovan operated adjacent factories that each discharged distinct chemical pollutants into the same river. Because a reasonable basis existed for dividing the resulting fish kill according to each factory's measured contribution, the court held each defendant liable only for the portion of damages each had caused.
Denise Donovan sued Dover Bank in state court located in the Eastern District. Dover Bank filed its notice of removal in the federal district court for the specific division within that district where the state action was pending, attaching all required pleadings and process.
Before his death Darius Dixon gave his daughter Danielle Dixon a substantial cash gift and executed a contemporaneous writing stating that the gift should reduce her eventual intestate share. After Darius died without a will the personal representative deducted the gift's value when computing the final division of the estate among the heirs.
Two of three cotenants of a parcel executed an agreement purporting to burden the entire estate with a restrictive covenant. Because the third cotenant did not join, the agreement created no servitude on the land but gave the two participating owners enforceable rights against each other that could later support creation of a servitude upon partition.
A division is permitted only when it is proportional to services performed or each lawyer assumes joint responsibility, the client agrees in writing to the arrangement and shares, and the total fee is reasonable.
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Its duration must be fixed in units of a year or multiples or divisions of a year, unlike a life estate that ends at an uncertain time or an estate at will that is terminable at any moment.
…those states which enact it. "SECTION 4. [ Short Title. ] This Act may be cited as the Uniform Abortion Act. "SECTION 5. [ Severability. ] If any provision of this Act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this Act which…
…Law constituted a taking of their property without just compensation. The trial court upheld the law, but the Appellate Division
…18 months, subject to annual extensions of his commitment until his 18th birthdaysix years in appellant's case. The Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court, First Judicial Department, affirmed without opinion, 30 App. Div. 2d 781, 291 N. Y. S. 2d 1005 (1968). The New York Court of Appeals then affirmed by a…
…of § 244(c)(2) to be severable. Although the general rule is that the presence of a saving clause creates a presumption of
…and given was sufficient. 75 N. Y. S. 2d 397. A final decree accepting the accounts has been entered, affirmed by the Appellate Division
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When independent tortfeasors cause distinct harms or a single harm for which there is a reasonable basis for division according to each person's contribution, each defendant is liable only for the portion caused by that defendant.
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The notice must be filed in the United States district court for the district and division within which the state court action is pending, together with copies of all process, pleadings, and orders served on the defendant.
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A gift is treated as an advancement against an heir's intestate share only if the decedent declared in a contemporaneous writing or the heir acknowledged in writing that the gift is an advancement, or the writing otherwise indicates it should be taken into account in the division.
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The attempt does not create a servitude burdening the entire estate but does create rights enforceable against the owners who joined in the attempt and may later support creation of a servitude by estoppel or on partition.
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