A litigant is a party to a lawsuit—the person, business, or government entity whose rights and interests the court will actually decide. The judge presides, witnesses testify, and clerks move the paperwork, but litigants are the ones on the hook for the outcome. If you are asking what a litigant is, the short answer is this: anyone who files a case, defends against one, or is formally brought in as a party, and who therefore carries the duties and costs that go with that status.
The label is more than a formality. A litigant signs filings under penalty of sanction, is bound by the court’s judgment, and has to meet threshold legal requirements before a court will even hear the dispute. Everything below unpacks what that looks like in practice.
Who Counts as a Litigant
Courts do not limit the role to individual people. Several categories of actors can sue or be sued, and each becomes a litigant once named as a party.
- Individuals. Any adult of sound mind can file or defend a case. Minors and people who lack mental capacity can still be litigants, but a guardian ad litem acts on their behalf.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 17 – Plaintiff and Defendant; Capacity; Public Officers
- Corporations. A corporation is a legal person for litigation purposes, with its capacity governed by the law of the state where it was incorporated.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 17 – Plaintiff and Defendant; Capacity; Public Officers
- Government agencies. Federal, state, and local bodies appear routinely, whether enforcing regulations, defending laws, or prosecuting crimes.
- Unincorporated associations. Partnerships, unions, and similar groups can sue or be sued in their own name when the case involves a right under the U.S. Constitution or federal law.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 17 – Plaintiff and Defendant; Capacity; Public Officers
Class actions complicate the picture. The named representatives who file the case are clearly litigants. Unnamed class members are bound by the judgment and share in any recovery, but they do not run the case day to day. They can hire their own counsel, object to settlements, and in many cases opt out to pursue individual claims.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 23 – Class Actions Whether they are “litigants” in the fullest sense depends on context, but their rights are on the line.
What a Litigant Is Called Depends on the Case
The specific label attached to a litigant shifts with the type of case and the stage it has reached. These names signal more than tradition. They indicate who files first, who answers, and who carries the burden of proof.
Civil Cases
The party who files is the plaintiff, sometimes called the petitioner. The party being sued is the defendant, or respondent. The plaintiff carries the initial burden, typically proof by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not). A defendant who thinks someone else shares blame can pull that outsider into the case as a third-party defendant, who then becomes a litigant with full rights to defend and even file counterclaims.3Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 14 – Third-Party Practice
Criminal Cases
In a criminal prosecution, the government is always the party bringing the case. At the federal level, the United States acts through a U.S. attorney’s office. At the state level, the case is captioned in the name of “the People” or “the State.” The accused is the defendant. Because conviction can mean loss of liberty, the government has to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.4United States Courts. Criminal Cases
Appeals
On appeal, the labels change again. The side challenging the lower court’s decision is the appellant (or petitioner), and the side defending it is the appellee (or respondent). These labels do not track who originally filed the case. If the defendant lost at trial and appeals, the defendant is now the appellant.5Legal Information Institute. Appellee
Intervenors
Someone outside the original lawsuit who has enough at stake can ask to join. This is intervention. A court must allow it when a federal statute grants the right, or when the outsider has an interest that the existing parties would not adequately protect. Courts can also permit intervention at their discretion when the newcomer’s claim or defense shares a common question of law or fact with the pending case.6Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 24 – Intervention Once admitted, an intervenor is a full litigant.
What It Takes to Actually Become a Litigant
Filing a complaint does not automatically make someone a proper litigant. Courts enforce several threshold rules, and failing any one of them can end a case before the merits are ever reached.
Standing
Standing is the first hurdle. A litigant has to show a concrete and specific injury, a connection between that injury and the challenged conduct, and a realistic chance that a court ruling would fix the problem.7Constitution Annotated. ArtIII.S2.C1.6.1 Overview of Standing Abstract grievances about government policy do not count. A person upset about a law but not personally harmed by it cannot challenge it in court.
Legal Capacity
Capacity is the basic qualification to participate. For individuals, it is governed by the law of the person’s home state. For corporations, it is set by the state of organization.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 17 – Plaintiff and Defendant; Capacity; Public Officers Minors and incapacitated adults participate through a guardian ad litem.
Real Party in Interest
Federal courts require that a case be filed by the person or entity that actually owns the legal right at issue. Outsiders cannot sue on someone else’s behalf except in narrow situations involving executors, trustees, guardians, and other authorized representatives.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 17 – Plaintiff and Defendant; Capacity; Public Officers If the wrong party files, the court will give a reasonable period for the proper one to step in rather than dismissing outright.
Statutes of Limitations
Even a well-qualified claim can be lost by waiting too long. Deadlines vary by claim type and jurisdiction. Tort claims against the federal government, for example, must be filed with the appropriate agency within two years, and if denied, the litigant has six months to file suit in federal court.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 2401 – Time for Commencing Action Against United States Missing a deadline generally bars the claim for good, no matter how strong it is on the facts.
What a Litigant Has to Do Once the Case Is Filed
Being named in a case triggers real obligations. Litigants ignore them at their own risk.
Each party has to hand over basic information early, without being asked. In federal court, that includes names of people with relevant knowledge, descriptions of key documents, a damages breakdown with supporting materials, and any insurance policies that might cover a judgment. Initial disclosures are due within 14 days of the parties’ planning conference, and an incomplete investigation is not an excuse to delay. After that, discovery expands into written questions, document requests, and depositions. Expert witnesses, if any, must be identified with written reports at least 90 days before trial.9Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 26 – Duty to Disclose; General Provisions Governing Discovery
Litigants also have a duty to preserve evidence once a lawsuit is filed or reasonably anticipated. Destroying or losing relevant documents or data after that point can lead to sanctions, from a jury instruction allowing an adverse inference, up to dismissal of claims or default judgment.
Every filing carries an implicit certification that the claims have evidentiary support, the legal arguments are grounded in existing law or a good-faith argument to change it, and the filing is not meant to harass or cause delay. Violating that duty exposes a litigant to monetary sanctions or having the filing struck.10Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 11
Can You Be a Litigant Without a Lawyer
Yes. Federal law states plainly that parties may plead and conduct their own cases personally in all federal courts.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1654 – Appearance Personally or by Counsel This is called proceeding pro se. In criminal cases, the Sixth Amendment separately protects the defendant’s right to self-representation.12Justia. Sixth Amendment – Rights of Accused in Criminal Prosecutions – Self-Representation
The right is real, but courts hold self-represented litigants to the same procedural rules as licensed attorneys. The same filing deadlines, evidence rules, and formatting requirements apply. A missed deadline or a defective pleading can mean a motion denied, evidence excluded, or the whole case dismissed.
Cost drives most pro se decisions. As of 2025, the average hourly billing rate for an attorney in the United States is roughly $349, with state averages running from under $200 to nearly $500. Litigation attorneys usually bill on the higher end, and those hours add up through discovery, motions, and trial. The money saved can disappear fast if a procedural error produces a loss a lawyer could have prevented.
What Being a Litigant Costs
Litigation is expensive on both sides. Any realistic decision to sue or fight back has to account for what the process will actually cost.
- Filing fees. Federal district court charges a standard $405 to file a complaint. State court fees vary widely, often from roughly $100 to several hundred dollars depending on the court and amount in dispute.
- Service of process. Professional process servers typically charge between $50 and $225, depending on complexity and location.
- Discovery. Document production, written discovery, and depositions all cost money. Court reporters for depositions commonly charge $75 to $150 per hour, plus per-page transcript fees.
- Expert witnesses. Average hourly rates run around $356 for case review, $448 for a deposition, and $478 for trial testimony.
- Attorney fees. For litigants who hire counsel, this is almost always the biggest line item, driven by the lawyer’s experience, practice area, and market.
Some of these costs can be shifted to the losing side if the court orders it, but the American default is that each party pays its own way. A winning litigant may recover certain costs like filing fees and deposition expenses, but recovering attorney fees usually requires a specific statute or contract that authorizes it.