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Aplaintiff (Π inlegal shorthand) is the party who initiates alawsuit (also known as anaction) before acourt. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks alegal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issuejudgment in favor of the plaintiff and make the appropriatecourt order (e.g., an order fordamages). 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 theCivil Procedure Rules in 1999, been known as a "claimant" and Scotland, where the party has always been known as the "pursuer". In criminal cases, theprosecutor brings the case against the defendant, but the key complaining party is often called the "complainant".
In somejurisdictions, a lawsuit is commenced by filing asummons, claim form or acomplaint. These documents are known aspleadings, that set forth the alleged wrongs committed by thedefendant or defendants with a demand for relief. In other jurisdictions, the action is commenced by service oflegal process by delivery of these documents on the defendant by a process server; they are only filed with the court subsequently with anaffidavit from the process server that they had been given to the defendant according to the rules ofcivil procedure.
In most English-speaking jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, Nigeria, Australia (except in federal jurisdiction), Canada, the United States, 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 wordplaintiff can be traced to the year 1278, and stems from the Anglo-French wordpleintif 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 aclass action is called anamed 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 ininsurance andadministrative law. After exhausting remedies available through aninsurer orgovernment 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.
InEngland and Wales, the term "claimant" replaced "plaintiff" after theCivil 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] InScottish law a plaintiff is referred to as a "pursuer" and a defendant as a "defender".[4]
The similar term "complainant" denotes the complaining witness in a criminal proceeding.
In theFederal Court of Australia, most plaintiffs are called "applicants", but in admiralty and corporations law matters they are called "plaintiffs".[5]
Case names are usually given with the plaintiff first, as inPlaintiff v. Defendant (orally,Plaintiffand Defendant). The party against whom the complaint is made is thedefendant; or, in the case of a petition, a respondent. Subsequent references to a case may use only one of the names, typically that of the first nongovernmental party.[6]
Criminal cases are usually brought by the prosecution, not a plaintiff. The prosecution may bring the case formally in the name of the monarch, state or government. In many Commonwealth realms, this is the king (or queen, when the monarch is female), namedthe Crown, abbreviatedR, thusR v Defendant (orally,R against (versus) Defendant). In several U.S. states, including California, Illinois, Michigan, and New York, the prosecution of a criminal case is captioned asThe People of the State of, followed by the name of the state, orPeople for short.[7]
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