Also known as: trades · traded · trading · trader · traders · tradesman · tradesmen · commerce · business
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A commercial activity or business enterprise conducted for profit. The term encompasses regular dealings in goods or services with the expectation of gain, whether the activity occurs in a fixed location or through ongoing transactions.
Theodore Tucker operates a small accounting practice from the first floor of his home while sleeping upstairs every night. When a burglar breaks in at midnight to steal client files, the structure qualifies as a dwelling because Tucker regularly uses it for sleeping even though he also conducts trade there.
Titan Industries ships manufactured parts across state lines to buyers in three neighboring states. Congress enacts a statute requiring safety labeling on all such shipments. The law is valid because it regulates trade among the several states under the commerce power.
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Threshold Capital is sued for breach of a commercial lease. Its insurer must produce the policy under initial disclosure rules because the agreement may cover part of any judgment in the action.
Tanner Thompson steals a delivery van from Triumph Manufacturing's lot. Because the property is a motor-propelled vehicle taken in the course of trade, the theft is graded as a third-degree felony under the applicable statute.
Judge Thomas Thompson coordinates with the clerk's office to schedule hearings for commercial cases. The judge's cooperation fulfills the duty to assist in the administration of court business.
Attorney Taliah Tang proposes to purchase a 20 percent interest in her client's manufacturing firm. The transaction is subject to the rule governing business transactions with clients because it creates a pecuniary interest adverse to the client.
No. A structure remains a dwelling if the occupant regularly sleeps there, even when the same space is used for conducting business or trade. Temporary absence does not change this classification.
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State laws that discriminate against or unduly burden interstate commerce are subject to scrutiny under the dormant commerce clause. Congress's power to regulate commerce among the states limits state authority to interfere with that trade.
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A party must disclose any insurance agreement under which an insurance business may be liable to satisfy all or part of a possible judgment in the action or to indemnify or reimburse for payments made to satisfy the judgment.
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…objected to being sworn, alleging they were clerks in the Department of State and not bound to disclose facts relating to the business or transactions in the office. Mr. Lee observed that the Secretary of State's duties are of two kinds and he exercises functions in two distinct capacities: as a public ministerial officer…