Immaterial issue

IMMATERIAL ISSUE. One taken on a point not proper to decide the action; for example, if in an action of debt on bond, conditioned for the payment of ten dollars and fifty cents at a certain day, the defend ant pleads the payment of ten dollars according to the form of the condition, and the plaintiff, instead of demurring, tenders issue upon the payment, it is manifest that, whether this issue be found for the plaintiff or the defendant, it will remain equally uncertain whether the plaintiff is entitled to maintain his action, or not; for, in an action for the penalty of a bond, conditioned to pay a certain sum, the only material question is, whether the exact sum were paid or not, and the question of payment of a part is a question quite beside the legal merits. Hob. 113; 5 Taunt. 386.

A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States. By John Bouvier. Published 1856.
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References in periodicals archive ?
The firms with the highest annualized active return (alpha) of 4.8 percent were performing well on the material issues and poorly on the immaterial issues. Those with the lowest alpha, -2.2 percent, were performing poorly on both.
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While necessary, that event generally only happens once a year and is often focused on relatively immaterial issues that are nowhere near what is required to truly understand how effectively a company is governed.
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Yet these serious infractions are truly immaterial issues because of this simple truth: The airport board was illegal.
Letters to the editor
(14) As had been the case in Germany, small associations of workers joining hands because of a similar profession developed side by side with general Catholic worker associations, which--like Patrimonium in the Protestant case--focused on broader, immaterial issues. (15) These general associations were coordinated at the level of the Dutch dioceses, which resulted in five diocesan Catholic worker associations.
Marching for morals: early struggles in the Dutch Christian worker movement
With the advent and expansion of alternative billing arrangements, including ranges and fiat fees, it behooves neither the client nor the attorney to expend unnecessary time on immaterial issues.
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We may all have heard auditor's stories of how immaterial issues ("waived adjustments") on the income statement can, over many years, ultimately have a material impact on the balance sheet.
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So much of your education has been concerned with immaterial issues of which you are familiar because most of us do not live in your superficial world.
James Whitaker Column: Dear James
Although development of an operative definition of materiality may prove to be problematic, we recommend that the evaluation measure be clarified to include an assessment of how well the agent distinguishes between material and immaterial issues and how well he or she handles the material issues.
Evaluation of the coordinated examination program and IRS field personnel
However, becoming too deeply involved in immaterial issues is an error.
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Although development of an operative definition of materiality may prove to be problematic, TEI believes the evaluation procedure should measure how well the agent distinguishes between material and immaterial issues and how well he or she handles the material issues.
Comments on coordinated examination program: evaluation of agent performance and the IRS's ethics initiative, December 20, 1989

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