Law Dictionary

Quasi-jurisdictional has no recognized legal meaning. The nearest real concept is quasi-judicial, which describes decisions by administrative bodies, such as tribunals and regulators, that determine individual rights and must be made fairly and within the body's statutory powers.

Quasi-legal has no precise legal meaning. It is used loosely for rules or processes that resemble law without being made by a legislature or court, such as industry codes, professional standards or internal dispute processes. The nearest real concept is delegated or administrative rule making under a statute.

Quasi-monopoly is an economic description, not a legal term, of a business with a dominant but not exclusive position in a market. In Canadian law, holding a dominant position is not unlawful; the legal concern is abuse of that position.

Quasi-official is an informal description, not a legal term, of a body that is not part of government but performs public functions under statutory authority, such as a self-regulating professional body. The nearest legal concepts are statutory bodies, Crown agencies and administrative decision makers.

A quasi-partnership is a closely held company whose shareholders deal with each other like partners, usually based on mutual trust, an understanding that each will take part in management, and restrictions on selling shares. In British Columbia, courts use this finding to define shareholders' reasonable expectations under the BCBCA oppression remedy and when ordering a just and equitable liquidation.

Quasi-property has no recognized meaning in BC law; it is an obscure label from some US cases. The nearest real concept is intangible personal property: intellectual property and contractual rights are personal property, such as statutory rights or choses in action, not equivalents of real property.

Quasi-public corporation is a US term with no specific meaning in BC. The nearest real concepts are Crown corporations, which are owned by government, and public companies, meaning reporting issuers whose securities are offered to the public under securities law.

Quasi-regulatory is an informal description, not a legal term, of rules or standards set by bodies without full statutory regulatory power, such as industry associations or voluntary codes. The nearest legal concept is self-regulation, where a statute delegates regulatory authority to a professional or industry body.

Quasi-sovereign is a US legal concept, used in parens patriae cases to describe a state's interest in its residents' wellbeing, and it has no meaning in BC law. The nearest real concept is a Crown corporation or Crown agent, which may share some of the Crown's legal privileges.

Quasi-statutory has no settled legal meaning. The nearest real concepts are delegated legislation, such as regulations and rules made under a statute, and soft law, such as policies and guidelines issued by regulators that guide decisions but do not legally bind.

Quasi-territorial has no recognized legal meaning. The nearest real concept is territorial jurisdiction: the geographic reach of a government's laws, such as provincial laws applying within BC and municipal bylaws, including zoning, applying within municipal boundaries.

Quasi-tort is not a recognized category in Canadian law. The conduct often described this way, such as interference with economic relations, breach of confidence or negligent misrepresentation, is covered by established causes of action, each with its own required elements.

Quasi-transactional has no recognized legal meaning. The nearest real concepts are the different ways rights are transferred or shared: a sale transfers ownership, while a lease or licence grants rights to use property or intellectual property for a period while the owner keeps ownership.

Quasi-trust is not a recognized category in BC law. The nearest real concepts are the recognized trusts: express trusts created intentionally, resulting trusts presumed by law, constructive trusts imposed by courts to prevent unjust results, and bare trusts in which a trustee simply holds title for a beneficiary.

Quasi-vested has no recognized legal meaning. The nearest real concepts are vested interests, which are fixed rights that do not depend on any further condition, and contingent interests, which depend on a condition being met, such as share options that vest over time.

Quasi-warranty has no recognized legal meaning. The nearest real concept is the implied term: under BC's Sale of Goods Act, certain conditions are implied into sales of goods unless validly excluded, while express warranties are promises written into the contract.

Quiet enjoyment is a landlord's promise, express or implied in every lease, that it will not substantially interfere with the tenant's possession and use of the premises. In a British Columbia commercial lease, breaches such as lockouts, disruptive landlord renovations or cutting off access are enforced under the lease and the common law, not through the Residential Tenancy Branch.

A quittance is an archaic term for a document acknowledging that a debt has been paid or an obligation discharged. Today the equivalents are a receipt, a release or, for a mortgage, a discharge registered on title. The word is not used in modern BC practice.

Quorum is the minimum number of directors or shareholders who must be present for a meeting to validly conduct business. For a British Columbia company, the articles usually set quorum; if they do not, the BCBCA default for shareholders meetings is two shareholders entitled to vote, present in person or by proxy. Decisions made without quorum can be invalid.

Quorum sensing is a microbiology term for the way bacteria signal to each other to coordinate their behaviour once their population reaches a certain density. It is a scientific term rather than a legal one and has nothing to do with quorum at corporate meetings.

Real estate development is the process of acquiring land and obtaining approvals to build or redevelop it for sale or lease. In British Columbia this involves rezoning and development permits under the Local Government Act or, in Vancouver, the Vancouver Charter, title work under the Land Title Act, construction contracts, and presale disclosure under the Real Estate Development Marketing Act.

Real estate financing is the borrowing of money to buy, build or refinance land, usually secured by a mortgage registered against title at the Land Title Office. In British Columbia, mortgage terms are governed by contract, the Property Law Act and the federal Interest Act, and default is enforced through a foreclosure proceeding in the BC Supreme Court.

Real estate investment is buying, holding, developing or leasing property to earn income or capital gains. It can be done directly, through a company or partnership, or through pooled vehicles such as real estate investment trusts and syndicated mortgage or fractional interest offerings.

Real estate law governs the ownership, use, transfer, financing and leasing of land and buildings. In BC it covers purchases and sales, land title registration, mortgages, commercial leasing, strata property, zoning and development, and disputes such as builders liens.

A real estate transaction is the sale, purchase, lease or financing of land and buildings. In British Columbia, a sale is documented by a contract of purchase and sale, completed by registering a transfer at the Land Title Office, and normally triggers property transfer tax. Buyers rely on title searches and inspections because sellers have limited disclosure duties.