GLOSSARY OF TERMS

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joint and several liability
Each of the individual owners is personally responsible for the total damages.
 
joint tenancy
Ownership of real estate between two or more parties who have been named in one conveyance as joint tenants.  Upon the death of a joint tenant, the decedent's interest passes to the surviving joint tenant or tenants by the right of survivorship.
 
joint venture
The joining of two or more people to conduct a specific business enterprise.  A joint venture is similar to a partnership in that it must be created by agreement between the parties to share in the losses and profits of the venture.  It is unlike a partnership in that the venture is for one specific project only, rather than for a continuing business relationship.
 
judgment
The formal decision of a court upon the respective rights and claims of the parties to an action or suit.  After a judgment has been entered and recorded with the county recorder, it usually becomes a general lien on the property of the defendant. 
 
junior lien
An obligation, such as a second mortgage, that is subordinate in right or lien priority to an existing lien on the same property.