Also known as: voids · voided · voiding · voidance · nullity · invalid
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A legal status rendering a statute, contract, ruling, deed, trust, or other instrument null and without legal effect from the outset.
Vanessa Vinson signed a mortgage on her home in favor of Velocity Logistics to secure a supposed loan. No debt or promise to pay ever existed between the parties. When Velocity attempted foreclosure after Vanessa defaulted on unrelated obligations, the court held the mortgage void because no enforceable obligation supported it.
Viktor Voronin leased commercial space from Volta Electric under an agreement allowing the landlord to change the locks upon any late payment. State law provided a speedy judicial remedy for possession but did not authorize self-help. The self-help provision was void as against public policy.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Vivid Media contracted to supply software to Voss Shipping and included a clause requiring the buyer to pay $500,000 upon any late delivery regardless of actual harm. Actual damages proved difficult to measure but far smaller than the fixed sum. The clause fixing the amount was void as an unenforceable penalty.
Victoria Vernon executed a will devising her estate to the trustee of a trust she had created years earlier. The trust instrument was identified in the will and its terms were set forth in a separate writing. The devise remained valid even though the trust was revocable and later amended.
Vito Villarreal, a resident of County A, filed an adoption petition in County B where the child resided only temporarily. State law required residency in the filing county and contained no UCCJEA coverage for adoption. The proceeding was void for lack of jurisdiction under the statutory scheme.
Vance Vogel executed a trust naming his caregiver as sole beneficiary after the caregiver isolated him from family and pressured him daily. Evidence showed the caregiver exploited a confidential relationship to obtain the trust terms. The trust was void to the extent its creation resulted from undue influence.
Void means the instrument or act has no legal effect from the beginning. Voidable means the instrument or act is valid until a party with the power elects to avoid it. The distinction determines whether ratification or rescission is possible.
A mortgage is void when no valid underlying obligation exists to support it. The absence of a debt or promise to pay extinguishes the security interest and prevents enforcement through foreclosure.
A liquidated damages clause is void when the fixed amount is unreasonable in light of anticipated or actual harm, proof difficulties, and the feasibility of other remedies. An unreasonably large sum functions as an unenforceable penalty.
A trust is void to the extent its creation was procured by fraud, duress, or undue influence. The invalidity reaches only the tainted portions while leaving unaffected provisions intact if severable.
An agreement authorizing landlord self-help is void when controlling law supplies a speedy judicial remedy instead. The clause violates public policy by bypassing required judicial process.
…be mockery. The particular phraseology of the Constitution confirms the principle that a law repugnant to the Constitution is void and that courts as well as other departments are bound by that instrument. Therefore the Judiciary Act insofar as it purports to extend the Supreme Court's original jurisdiction beyond that…