"Pursuer" redirects here. For the comic book character by that name, see Pursuer (comics). For the Waikymas on the Lithuanian coat of arms, see Coat of arms of Lithuania.
A plaintiff (Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an action) before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the plaintiff and make the appropriate court order (e.g., an order for damages). "Plaintiff" is the term used in civil cases in most English-speaking jurisdictions, the notable exceptions being England and Wales, where a plaintiff has, since the introduction of the Civil Procedure Rules in 1999, been known as a "claimant" and Scotland, where the party has always been known as the "pursuer". In criminal cases, the prosecutor brings the case against the defendant, but the key complaining party is often called the "complainant".
In some jurisdictions, a lawsuit is commenced by filing a summons, claim form or a complaint. These documents are known as pleadings, that set forth the alleged wrongs committed by the defendant or defendants with a demand for relief. In other jurisdictions, the action is commenced by service of legal process by delivery of these documents on the defendant by a process server; they are only filed with the court subsequently with an affidavit from the process server that they had been given to the defendant according to the rules of civil procedure.
The word plaintiff can be traced to the year 1278, and stems from the Anglo-French word pleintif meaning "complaining". It was identical to "plaintive" at first and receded into legal usage with the -iff spelling in the 15th century.[1]
In most common-law jurisdictions, the term "claimant" used in England and Wales since 1999 (see below) is used only in specific, often non-judicial contexts. In particular, in American usage, terms such as "claimant" and "claim form" are limited to extrajudicial process in insurance and administrative law. After exhausting remedies available through an insurer or government agency, an American claimant in need of further relief would turn to the courts, file a complaint (thus establishing a real court case under judicial supervision) and become a plaintiff.
In England and Wales, the term "claimant" replaced "plaintiff" after the Civil Procedure Rules came into force on 26 April 1999.[2] The move, which brings England and Wales out of line with general usage in English-speaking jurisdictions, was reportedly based on an assessment that the word "claimant" is more acceptable as "plain English" than the word "plaintiff".[3] In Scottish law a plaintiff is referred to as a "pursuer" and a defendant as a "defender".[4]
The party against whom the complaint is made is the defendant; or, in the case of a petition, a respondent. Case names are usually given with the plaintiff first, as in Plaintiff v. Defendant.
The similar term "complainant" denotes the complaining witness in a criminal proceeding.
See also
Look up plaintiff, petitioner, claimant, or complainant in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
^BBC, "UK Civil courts to modernize", 24 April 1999
^"Glossary". Judiciary of Scotland. from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
March 04, 2023
plaintiff, pursuer, redirects, here, comic, book, character, that, name, pursuer, comics, waikymas, lithuanian, coat, arms, coat, arms, lithuania, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citation. Pursuer redirects here For the comic book character by that name see Pursuer comics For the Waikymas on the Lithuanian coat of arms see Coat of arms of Lithuania This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Plaintiff news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2007 Learn how and when to remove this template message A plaintiff P in legal shorthand is the party who initiates a lawsuit also known as an action before a court By doing so the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy If this search is successful the court will issue judgment in favor of the plaintiff and make the appropriate court order e g an order for damages Plaintiff is the term used in civil cases in most English speaking jurisdictions the notable exceptions being England and Wales where a plaintiff has since the introduction of the Civil Procedure Rules in 1999 been known as a claimant and Scotland where the party has always been known as the pursuer In criminal cases the prosecutor brings the case against the defendant but the key complaining party is often called the complainant In some jurisdictions a lawsuit is commenced by filing a summons claim form or a complaint These documents are known as pleadings that set forth the alleged wrongs committed by the defendant or defendants with a demand for relief In other jurisdictions the action is commenced by service of legal process by delivery of these documents on the defendant by a process server they are only filed with the court subsequently with an affidavit from the process server that they had been given to the defendant according to the rules of civil procedure Terminology EditIn most English speaking jurisdictions including Hong Kong Nigeria Australia Canada and the United States as well as in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland the legal term plaintiff is used as a general term for the party taking action in a civil case The word plaintiff can be traced to the year 1278 and stems from the Anglo French word pleintif meaning complaining It was identical to plaintive at first and receded into legal usage with the iff spelling in the 15th century 1 A plaintiff identified by name in a class action is called a named plaintiff In most common law jurisdictions the term claimant used in England and Wales since 1999 see below is used only in specific often non judicial contexts In particular in American usage terms such as claimant and claim form are limited to extrajudicial process in insurance and administrative law After exhausting remedies available through an insurer or government agency an American claimant in need of further relief would turn to the courts file a complaint thus establishing a real court case under judicial supervision and become a plaintiff In England and Wales the term claimant replaced plaintiff after the Civil Procedure Rules came into force on 26 April 1999 2 The move which brings England and Wales out of line with general usage in English speaking jurisdictions was reportedly based on an assessment that the word claimant is more acceptable as plain English than the word plaintiff 3 In Scottish law a plaintiff is referred to as a pursuer and a defendant as a defender 4 The party against whom the complaint is made is the defendant or in the case of a petition a respondent Case names are usually given with the plaintiff first as in Plaintiff v Defendant The similar term complainant denotes the complaining witness in a criminal proceeding See also Edit Look up plaintiff petitioner claimant or complainant in Wiktionary the free dictionary Legal financing Defendant LawsuitReferences Edit Etymology Online etymonline com Retrieved 2008 04 24 Civil Civil Procedure Rules dca gov uk BBC UK Civil courts to modernize 24 April 1999 Glossary Judiciary of Scotland Archived from the original on 19 August 2019 Retrieved 24 January 2017 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Plaintiff amp oldid 1110903655, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
