The opposite of a plaintiff is usually the defendant, the person or entity being sued. That is the standard label in civil lawsuits and the one most people are looking for. But it is not the only one. Depending on how a case starts and where it sits in the system, the opposing party might instead be called a respondent, an appellee, a third-party defendant, or, in bankruptcy, a debtor. Criminal cases use “defendant” too, even though there is no plaintiff on the other side.
Defendant: The Standard Civil Answer
In a typical civil lawsuit, the plaintiff files a complaint and the person or organization on the other side is the defendant. The plaintiff claims the defendant caused some kind of harm, whether a broken contract, property damage, personal injury, or an unpaid debt. The defendant then files a formal response called an answer, admitting or denying each allegation and raising any defenses.
A defendant is not stuck playing defense. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 13 lets defendants file counterclaims against the plaintiff or cross-claims against other defendants in the same case.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 13 – Counterclaim and Crossclaim A counterclaim flips the roles on that separate claim: the defendant acts as a plaintiff, and the original plaintiff has to defend. If a landlord sues a tenant for unpaid rent, the tenant might counterclaim over an unreturned security deposit.
Respondent: Petitions and Appeals
Not every case starts with a complaint. Many start with a petition, and the party on the other side of a petition is the respondent. The term shows up in two settings.
At the trial level, “respondent” appears in cases initiated by petition rather than a traditional lawsuit. Divorce is the familiar example: the spouse who files is the petitioner, the other spouse is the respondent. The same vocabulary applies in restraining order proceedings, guardianship cases, and many administrative hearings.
In appellate courts, the respondent is the party defending the lower court’s decision. The side that lost below and filed the appeal is the petitioner or appellant, and the side that won is the respondent. The federal appellate courts use “respondent” interchangeably with “appellee.”2United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Definitions
Appellee: The Appeal-Specific Label
Appellee is the more precise term in appeals that reach a court through a notice of appeal rather than a petition for review. The Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure treat the two as overlapping, with Rule 20 stating that “appellee” includes a respondent.3United States Courts. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure In practice, “appellant” and “appellee” are the standard labels in most federal and state appellate courts, while “petitioner” and “respondent” are the common pair in courts that grant discretionary review, like the U.S. Supreme Court.
Third-Party Defendant
Sometimes the real source of liability is someone the plaintiff did not sue. A defendant can pull that new party into the case through impleader. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 14, a defendant may file a third-party complaint against someone who was not originally part of the lawsuit but who may be partially or fully liable for the plaintiff’s claim.4Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 14 – Third-Party Practice The new party becomes a third-party defendant.
The point is efficiency. Instead of forcing the defendant to lose the first case and then file a separate one against the party actually responsible, impleader resolves everything together. A general contractor sued for defective construction, for instance, might implead the subcontractor whose crew did the work.
Debtor: The Bankruptcy Vocabulary
Bankruptcy uses its own words. The person or business filing for bankruptcy protection is the debtor, and the people or companies owed money are creditors. Neither side is called a plaintiff or defendant in the main bankruptcy case.5Central District of California | United States Bankruptcy Court. Bankruptcy Case Vs. Adversary Proceeding, What Is The Difference?
The familiar labels come back only when a dispute inside the bankruptcy escalates into an adversary proceeding, which functions like a mini-lawsuit within the larger case. There, the party filing the complaint is the plaintiff and the other side is the defendant, just like regular civil litigation.5Central District of California | United States Bankruptcy Court. Bankruptcy Case Vs. Adversary Proceeding, What Is The Difference? A creditor challenging whether a particular debt should be discharged would be the plaintiff in that adversary proceeding, and the debtor would be the defendant.
Criminal Cases: Defendant and the Accused
Criminal cases have no plaintiff in the traditional sense. The government, acting through a prosecutor, brings charges against the person suspected of a crime. That person is the defendant throughout the proceedings, the same word used on the civil side. The Sixth Amendment uses the older term “the accused,” which still appears in formal and scholarly contexts, but modern courts use “defendant” day to day.
Criminal defendants have constitutional protections that civil defendants do not. The Sixth Amendment guarantees a speedy and public trial, an impartial jury, notice of the charges, the right to confront witnesses, and the right to counsel.6Library of Congress. U.S. Constitution – Sixth Amendment A criminal defendant who cannot afford a lawyer gets one appointed. Civil defendants generally have to hire their own or represent themselves.
The burden of proof differs too. A prosecutor must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. A civil plaintiff usually only needs to show that their version is more likely true than not. That gap is why someone can be found not guilty in a criminal trial and still lose a civil lawsuit over the same conduct.
What Happens When a Defendant Ignores the Lawsuit
One practical note for anyone who finds themselves on the receiving end of a complaint. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55, when a defendant fails to file an answer or otherwise respond, the court clerk can enter a default.7Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 55 – Default; Default Judgment Once that default is on the record, the plaintiff can ask for a default judgment, and the defendant loses without the merits ever being heard. Courts can set a default aside for good cause, but undoing one is far harder than simply responding on time.