Also known as: splits · splitting
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An act of dividing a legal right, obligation, or cause of action into separate parts or interests. The division may occur by agreement, operation of law, or court ruling and often affects enforcement, privity, or remedies available to the parties.
Santiago Sanchez purchased a newly built home from its first owner. Defects in construction later appeared. When Santiago sued the builder directly, the court examined whether the implied warranty of habitability could be enforced without privity, revealing how authority splits on extending protection to remote buyers.
Sophia Singh originated a mortgage loan and later transferred only the note to a secondary-market buyer while retaining the mortgage document. The transferee sought to foreclose. The court held that the split left the note unsecured and denied enforcement until the mortgage interest was also conveyed.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Skylar Sullivan was prosecuted in state court for conduct that also violated federal law. She argued that the federal government could not compel state courts to hear the claim. The court explained that the Constitution splits sovereignty between two independent orders of government, each with its own direct relationship to the people.
Solomon Silver bought stock after corporate statements that omitted merger talks. When the talks became public the price fell. Plaintiffs invoked the fraud-on-the-market presumption. The court noted that circuits had split on the standard of materiality for preliminary merger discussions and applied the presumption to certify the class.
Simone Sanders was charged with murder and raised an extreme-emotional-disturbance defense. The state statute placed the burden of proving the defense on the defendant. The court upheld the allocation, observing that jurisdictions remain split on whether due process requires the prosecution to disprove affirmative defenses beyond a reasonable doubt.
Sofia Stern, a law student, objected to paying a mandatory university fee that subsidized certain student publications. She claimed the fee forced her to support speech she opposed. The court acknowledged a split among lower courts on whether such challenges succeed and evaluated the fee under First Amendment compelled-speech principles.
The note becomes unsecured as a practical matter. Enforcement of the mortgage is barred until the interests are reunited because separating the rights produces an economically wasteful result and an unwarranted windfall to the mortgagor.
No. Under the Model Business Corporation Act a board may amend the articles to triple each issued and unissued share of the single outstanding class without shareholder approval because the change is proportional and creates no class-based conflict.
The court examines the completeness and specificity of the document itself. A ten-page insurance policy that sets out coverages, exclusions, limits, and deductibles is presumptively integrated, so prior oral assurances contradicting its terms are excluded.
A buyer may accept conforming commercial units and reject nonconforming ones when the tender fails in any respect to conform. Each color batch of headphones constituted a separate commercial unit, allowing partial acceptance and rejection.
…Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3). See 786 F. 2d, at 750-751. We granted certiorari, 479 U. S. 1083 (1987), to resolve the split, see Part III, infra, among the Courts of Appeals as to the standard of materiality applicable to preliminary merger discussions, and to determine whether the courts below properly applied…