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last antecedent rule

last antecedent rule
A doctrine of interpretation by which a court finds that qualifying words or phrases refer to the language immediately preceding the qualifier, unless common sense shows that it was meant to apply to something more distant or less obvious. For example, in the phrase "the commercial vehicular license shall not apply to boats, tractors, and trucks under three tons, " the qualifier "under three tons" applies only to trucks and not to boats or tractors.
Category: Business, LLCs & Corporations
Category: Small Claims Court & Lawsuits
Category: Wills, Trusts & Estates

Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. . 2009.

  
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