Moratorium Definition: The temporary suspension of legal action against a person. "Moratorium is defined as a legally authorized period of delay in the performance of a legal obligation or the payment of a debt ... (a) waiting period set by some authority: a delay officially required or granted ... a suspension of activity: a temporary ban on the use or production of something...."A moratorium is by its nature an interim or temporary measure which contemplates future resolution or performance of issues and matters held temporarily in abeyance."These were the words adopted by Justice Sparks of the Court of Appeals of California in Beck Development v Pacific Transportation Company. A moratorium if often used in the context of creditor-debtor law in reference to a grace period extended to the debtor during which the creditor will not enforce his/her legal remedies against the debtor.1Derived from the Latin words morator (one who delays) and moratorius (causing delay).REFERENCES:Beck Development Co. v. S. Pacific Transportation Company, 44 Cal. App. 4th 1160 (1996)Brown v. State National Bank of Shawnee, 271 P. 833 (1927; NOTE #1)Clare, P. G., Oxford Latin Dictionary (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976). Categories & Topics: Company, Associations and Commercial Law Dictionary Find you are constantly looking up definitions? Try our search provider (works in most modern browsers) If you find an error or omission in Duhaime's Legal Dictionary, or if you have legal term suggestion, we'd love to hear from you!