Also known as: legal person · juridical persons · juristic persons
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An entity that the law recognizes as possessing independent rights and duties separate from those of its human members or creators. This status allows the entity to own property, enter contracts, sue and be sued, and bear liability in its own name.
Lamar Lewis and his wife created several embryos through IVF at a clinic and later sought their possession after separating. The cryopreservation agreement described the embryos as the couple's property. The court therefore resolved the dispute under contract principles rather than recognizing any independent rights that would attach to legal persons.
Logan Lane and his wife agreed to commit a theft but involved no third person. Because the law treats a husband and wife as a single legal person, their agreement alone could not satisfy the requirement of two distinct conspirators. Prosecutors therefore could not charge conspiracy on these facts.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Modern statutes grant them separate legal existence so they can own property, contract, and be sued in their own names, distinct from their owners or members.
No. The law treats them as a single legal person, so their agreement supplies only one participant and cannot meet the two-person requirement for conspiracy.
No. Courts treat them as property under cryopreservation agreements, allowing disposition according to contract principles rather than recognizing independent legal rights.
No. Once the certificate of limited partnership is filed, the statute recognizes the entity regardless of whether it earns revenue or relies on outside resources.