Waiver

Waiver

A waiver is the voluntary or surrender of some known right or privilege.

While a waiver is often in writing, sometimes a person's actions can act as a waiver. An example of a written waiver is a disclaimer, which becomes a waiver when accepted. Other names for waivers are exculpatory clauses, releases, or hold harmless clauses.

Sometimes the elements of "voluntary" and "known" are established by a legal fiction. In this case, it is presumed one knows his or her rights and that those rights are voluntarily relinquished if they are not asserted at the time!

In civil procedure, certain arguments must be raised in the first objection that a party submits to the court, or else they will be deemed waived.

Enforceability of waivers

The following represent a general overview of considerations; specifics may vary dramatically depending on the jurisdiction.

The key factor that courts look at when determining the applicability of a waiver are:
* A waiver can only release negligent activity, not intentional activity.
* The waiver must be signed voluntarily and with the full knowledge of the right being waived.
* The waiver must be unambiguous and clear.
* The parties to the waiver must have equal bargaining power.
* A waiver cannot be applied to an essential service that would make it a matter of public policy.

Waivers have been found unenforceable in some cases. For example, a waiver was deemed too general as it included phrases such as "and otherwise".

Examples

Personal jurisdiction

In the case of "Insurance Corp. of Ireland v. Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee", 456 U.S. 694 (1982) the United States Supreme Court decided that when a court orders a party to produce proof on a certain point, and that party refuses to comply with the court's order, the court may deem that refusal to be a waiver of the right to contest that point, and assume that the proof would show whatever the opposing party claims that it would. In the case itself, the defendant had argued that the court lacked personal jurisdiction over it, but refused a court order to produce evidence of this lack of jurisdiction. The defendant argued the circular logic that, because the court lacked jurisdiction, the court had no authority to issue an order to show proof of the lack of jurisdiction. The Supreme Court rejected that argument, and determined that the defendant's refusal to comply waived the right to contest jurisdiction, just as if it had never contested jurisdiction at all.

ee also

* Tort reform
* Disclaimer
* Due process

External links

* [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/advice/crown-copyright/copyright-guidance/reproduction-of-legislation.htm UK legislation from official sources is reproducible freely under waiver of copyright] .


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • waiver — waiv·er / wā vər/ n [Anglo French, from waiver to waive]: the act of intentionally or knowingly relinquishing or abandoning a known right, claim, or privilege; also: the legal instrument evidencing such an act compare estoppel, forfeiture ◇ Acts… …   Law dictionary

  • waiver — (n.) act of waiving, 1620s (modern usage is often short for waiver clause); from Anglo French legal usage of infinitive as a noun (see WAIVE (Cf. waive)). Baseball waivers is recorded from 1907. Other survivals of noun use of infinitives in Anglo …   Etymology dictionary

  • Waiver — Waiv er, n. (Law) The act of waiving, or not insisting on, some right, claim, or privilege. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • waiver — The voluntary relinquishment of a right (SA Bankruptcy.com) United Glossary of Bankruptcy Terms 2012 …   Glossary of Bankruptcy

  • waiver — [n] giving up; letting go abandonment, abdication, disclaimer, foregoing, postponement, refusal, rejection, relinquishment, remission, renunciation, reservation, resignation, setting aside, surrender, tabling; concepts 121,318,685 Ant. accept,… …   New thesaurus

  • waiver — ► NOUN 1) an act or instance of waiving a right or claim. 2) a document recording this …   English terms dictionary

  • waiver — [wā′vər] n. [substantive use of Anglo Fr: see WAIVE] Law 1. the act or an instance of waiving, or relinquishing voluntarily, a right, claim, privilege, etc. 2. a formal written statement of such relinquishment …   English World dictionary

  • waiver — The intentional or voluntary relinquishment of a known right, or such conduct as warrants an inference of the relinquishment of such right, or when one dispenses with the performance of something he is entitled to exact or when one in possession… …   Black's law dictionary

  • waiver — The agreement of a lender to overlook a borrower s failure to meet one or more conditions attached to the granting of a credit conditions that would, in the absence of a waiver, give the lender the right to declare the loan to be in default.… …   Financial and business terms

  • Waiver — Als Waiver bezeichnet man in der EU am Börsenhandel zugelassene Tochterunternehmen, deren Mutterkonzern in einem anderen Mitgliedstaat beheimatet ist. Für diese gruppenangehörige Gesellschaften können die Mitgliedstaaten beschließen, unter… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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