champerty
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cham·per·ty
(chăm′pər-tē)n. pl. cham·per·ties
A sharing in the proceeds of a lawsuit by an outside party who has funded or assisted in funding the litigation.
[Middle English champartie, from Old French champart, the lord's share of the tenant's crop, from Medieval Latin campars, campīpars : Latin campī, genitive of campus, field; see campus + Latin pars, part; see part.]
cham′per·tous (-təs) adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
champerty
(ˈtʃæmpətɪ)n, pl -ties
(Law) law (formerly) an illegal bargain between a party to litigation and an outsider whereby the latter agrees to pay for the action and thereby share in any proceeds recovered. See also maintenance
[C14: from Anglo-French champartie, from Old French champart share of produce, from champ field + part share (a feudal lord's)]
ˈchampertous adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
cham•per•ty
(ˈtʃæm pər ti)n.
a sharing in the proceeds of litigation in return for helping to prosecute or defend a case.
[1300–50; Middle English champartie <champart < Middle French: share of the produce (=champ field (see camp1) + part share, part)]
cham′per•tous, adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Noun | 1. | champerty - an unethical agreement between an attorney and client that the attorney would sue and pay the costs of the client's suit in return for a portion of the damages awarded; "soliciting personal injury cases may constitute champerty" actus reus, wrongful conduct, misconduct, wrongdoing - activity that transgresses moral or civil law; "he denied any wrongdoing" law, jurisprudence - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order" |
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