Common Legal Terminology

U.S. attorney -
A lawyer appointed by the President in each judicial district to prosecute and defend cases for the federal government. The U.S. Attorney employs a staff of Assistant U.S. Attorneys who appear as the government’s attorneys in individual cases.
U.S. trustee -
An officer of the U.S. Department of Justice responsible for supervising the administration of bankruptcy cases, estates, and trustees; monitoring plans and disclosure statements; monitoring creditors’ committees; monitoring fee applications; and performing other statutory duties.
Undersecured claim -
A debt secured by property that is worth less than the amount of the debt.
Undue hardship -
The most widely used test for evaluating undue hardship in the dischargeability of a student loan includes three conditions: (1) the debtor cannot maintain – based on current income and expenses – a minimal standard of living if forced to repay the loans; (2) there are indications that the state of affairs is likely to persist for a significant portion of the repayment period; and (3) the debtor made good faith efforts to repay the loans.
Unlawful detainer action -
A lawsuit brought by a landlord against a tenant to evict the tenant from rental property – usually for nonpayment of rent.
Unliquidated claim -
A claim for which a specific value has not been determined.
Unscheduled debt -
A debt that should have been listed by the debtor in the schedules filed with the court but was not. (Depending on the circumstances, an unscheduled debt may or may not be discharged.)
Unsecured claim -
A claim or debt for which a creditor holds no special assurance of payment, such as a mortgage or lien; a debt for which credit was extended based solely upon the creditor’s assessment of the debtor’s future ability to pay.
Uphold -
The appellate court agrees with the lower court decision and allows it to stand. See affirmed.

All terms and definitions on this page are from uscourts.gov/glossary (April 13, 2020)