What is the difference between defendant and plaintiff

Defend has been used since Middle English borrowed it from Latin via French. Defendant can also be an adjective , where it means interested in protecting oneself , but this usage is not limited to legal contexts. What does plaintiff mean? A plaintiff is the person who brings accusations against the defendant. Like defendant , plaintiff is a singular noun. Its plural is plaintiffs.

Oliver Brown, Norma McCorvey, and residents of Hinkley, California, are famous plaintiffs who were successful in court. Visit attorney-knoxville. Plaintiff or Petitioner, Defendant or Respondent? You must be logged in to post a comment Login. The opinions expressed by Focus columnists and those providing comments are theirs alone, and may not reflect the opinions of The Knoxville Focus or any employee thereof.

Related posts: What Are Court Costs? The person or entity being sued is called the defendant. John is stopped at a red light. Linda is driving behind John and texting on her cell phone. In this example, John is the plaintiff and Linda is the defendant.

Because the plaintiff files the lawsuit, the plaintiff is responsible for drafting the complaint. A copy of the complaint is served to the defendant and the defendant is required to file an answer. How can you distinguish the plaintiff from the defendant just by looking at a complaint or hearing a case name?

The plaintiff is generally named first in the case caption and the defendant is named second. So, how are you supposed to remember which party is the plaintiff and which is the defendant?

One of the critical differences between a plaintiff and defendant in a civil case is that the plaintiff is generally charged with the burden of proving the allegations.

On the other hand, there exist some jurisdictions that do not allow private prosecutors. In various parts of the world, the term has different meanings, definitions, and usage, as well as a matter of fact. Both terms are widely used in the court of law enforcement and other procedures as well.

People use these terms for better understanding and to convey an appropriate explanation during various times. Terminologies of various words provide a compact amount of study material that proves to be useful in many ways. It helps people in conveying their message in a precise manner without causing any confusion. It also enriches a written material as it is an important part of the vocabulary.