Also known as: money · moneys · funds · public moneys
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Sums of money or funds held, due, or transferred under legal obligations or transactions. The term emphasizes discrete amounts arising from contracts, fiduciary duties, judgments, or statutory powers rather than currency in the abstract.
Mason McCarthy contracted to buy land from Michael Miller. Before closing a fire destroyed the house. Equity treated Miller as owner of the purchase monies and McCarthy as owner of the land, so McCarthy remained obligated to pay the full price despite the loss.
Congress enacted a statute authorizing the Treasury to borrow monies on the credit of the United States to pay for national defense projects. The borrowing power under Article I Section 8 supplied the necessary funds without immediate taxation.
Attorney Megan Moore received settlement monies belonging to client Melissa Mills. Moore deposited the funds into a separate client trust account maintained in the state where her office was located, keeping them apart from her own property as required.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Monica Morgan sued Monarch Pharmaceuticals for breach of a supply contract. The court entered judgment awarding Morgan the sum of money due under the contract plus consequential damages, measured by the difference between the contract price and cover costs.
Mariam Mansour's will contained a pour-over clause directing that all monies remaining in her estate be added to an inter vivos trust she had created during life. The devise funded the previously unfunded trust according to its existing terms.
Midwest Airlines' sole shareholder commingled corporate monies with personal funds and failed to observe corporate formalities. A creditor proved unity of interest and that adherence to the corporate fiction would sanction injustice, allowing the court to pierce the veil.
Once a binding contract forms, equity treats the buyer as owner of the land and the seller as owner of the purchase monies. In most jurisdictions the risk of loss therefore passes to the buyer at contract formation, requiring the buyer to pay the full price even if the property is later destroyed.
A lawyer must hold client monies separate from the lawyer's own property in a separate trust account maintained in the state where the office is located. The lawyer must promptly notify the client, deliver funds the client is entitled to receive, and keep complete records for five years.
A court may award a sum of money due under the contract or as damages. It may also order specific performance, enjoin non-performance, or require restoration of a specific thing to prevent unjust enrichment.
…purported to illustrate the "wave of terror" by describing certain alleged events. The text concluded with an appeal for funds for three purposes: support of the student movement, "the struggle for the right-to-vote," and the legal defense of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., leader of the movement, against a perjury…