Parties to an Action

Parties to an Action in United States

Practical Information

The principals involved in a particular lawsuit or litigation. For a meaning of it, read Parties To An Action in the Legal Dictionary here.

Party bringing a lawsuit

The party who brings a lawsuit the one who has a cause of actionist the plaintiff, the one who complains. (See also complaint (in U.S. law).)

Party defending a lawsuit

The party against whom suit is brought is the defendant.

Parties to a cross action

In some cases, defendant’s interests cannot be defended properly by answering the plaintiff’s complaint or by a counterclaim. For example, an airline and an airplane manufacturer were codefendants in a wrongful death action. The complaint alleged that the plane was improperly designed and was not safe for its intended use. The airline claimed that if defective and hazardous conditions existed in the plane, they were caused by the failure of the airplane manufacturer to keep his guarantee that the plane would be free from defect in design.

Under these circumstances, in almost all states, the defendant (airline here) is permitted to implead the third party who becomes a third-party defendant. The party who is implied (airline manufacturer here) is the third-party defendant.

Party intervening

A lawsuit sometimes adversely affects a third party who is not a party to the litigation. If the court permits, that person may become a party to the action by filing a complaint in intervention, and is called an intervenor, or in some states, the third-party plaintiff. For example, while negotiations for a contract were in progress, the employee who was negotiating the contract as agent for his employer suddenly quit the employer and closed the contract in his own behalf. The former employee later sued to enforce the contract. His former employer claimed that the former employee was his agent, and was permitted to intervene to assert his interest in the contract. He became a party to the actions as an intervenor.

Amicus curiae

An amicus curiae (Latin for “friend of the court”) is not strictly speaking a party to the lawsuit. He or she is a person who has no inherent right to appear in the suit but is allowed to participate to protect his or her own interests. Leave to file a brief as amicus curiae is frequently granted to a lawyer who has another case that will be affected by the decision of the Court in the pending case. An amicus curiae might also volunteer information for the benefit of the judge. For example, in adoption proceedings the guardian of a child might seek permission to appear as amicus for the purpose of presenting evidence about which the court should be informed and that might lead the court to refuse the order of adoption.

Who may be parties to a lawsuit

A party to a lawsuit may be an individual, a partnership, a corporation, or an association.

Minors and incompetents

An individual ordinarily sues on his own behalf, but minors (frequently referred to as infants) and incompetents (persons of unsound mind or habitual drunkards) are legally incapable of bringing a legal action. If the minor or incompetent has a legally appointed guardian, the suit is often brought by the guardian. Otherwise, depending upon the state, a suit is brought on behalf of a minor or incompetent by his or her “next friend,” or by a guardian ad litem appointed by the court for the special purpose of the litigation. The fact that the plaintiff sues by his guardian or next friend is indicated in the caption of the case and is alleged in the pleadings. If a minor or an incompetent is defendant in a suit, he or she answers by a guardian ad litem or next friend. In Louisiana a minor is represented by a Tutor and a mentally incompetent person, by a Curator.

Executors, administrators, trustees

Often plaintiffs have a cause of action, not for a wrong against them in their individual capacity, but for a wrong against them in their representative capacity as executor, administrator, or trustee. The action is then brought by the plaintiff in that capacity. The capacity in which the action is brought is indicated in the caption and is stated in the introductory sentence of the pleadings. An executor (executrix, if a woman) sues “as executor of the last will and testament of Mary Jones, deceased.” An administrator (administratrix, if a woman) sues “as trustee under will of Mary Jones,” or “as trustee under trust created by Mary Jones.” Actions are also brought against, and defended by executors, administrators, and trustees of estates and trusts.

Husband and wife

In some actions if a married person sues, the spouse joins in the complaint. The caption indicates, and the first paragraph of the pleading declares, the relationship. If the husband has the cause of action, the suit is brought by Thomas W. Jones and Mary R. Jones his wife; if the wife has the cause of action, the suit is brought by Mary R. Jones and Thomas W. Jones, her husband. The same practice is followed when a married person is sued. In the caption (in U.S. law) of all pleadings (in U.S. law), except the complaint, and in the endorsements on the back of a court paper (see legal back (in U.S. law)), the Latin phrase et uxor, or et ux., may be substituted for “and Mary R. Jones, his wife”; et vir may be substituted for “and Thomas W. Jones, her husband.”

Partnerships

When a party to an action is a partnership, that fact is indicated in the caption and declared in the first paragraph of the pleading.

Expressions similar to the following are used in the caption. [1]

Parties in Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

The encyclopedia provides a comprehensive treatment of all aspects of federal jurisdiction and procedure, including issues on district court jurisdiction.

In relation to federal court procedure and federal litigation, Parties covers the following topics:

Plaintiff, Defendant, Capacity and Public Officers

Find out about Plaintiff, Defendant, Capacity and Public Officers in this context in this American legal encyclopedia.

Joinder of Claims

Find out about Joinder of Claims in this context in this American legal encyclopedia.

Required Joinder of Parties

Find out about Required Joinder of Parties in this context in this American legal encyclopedia.

Permissive Joinder of Parties

Find out about Permissive Joinder of Parties in this context in this American legal encyclopedia.

Misjoinder and Nonjoinder of Parties

Find out about Misjoinder and Nonjoinder of Parties in this context in this American legal encyclopedia.

Interpleader

Find out about Interpleader in this context in this American legal encyclopedia.

Class Actions

Find out about Class Actions in this context in this American legal encyclopedia.

Derivative Actions

Find out about Derivative Actions in this context in this American legal encyclopedia.

Actions Relating to Unincorporated Associations

Find out about Actions Relating to Unincorporated Associations in this context in this American legal encyclopedia.

Intervention

Find out about Intervention in this context in this American legal encyclopedia.

Substitution of Parties

Find out about Substitution of Parties in this context in this American legal encyclopedia.

Resources

Notes and References

  1. Revised by Ann De Vries

More Information

See Parties to an appeal (in U.S. law), deed (in U.S. law), foreclosure (in U.S. law) action, mortgage (in U.S. law), and probate (in U.S. law).

Further Reading

  • Charles Alan Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Andrew D. Leipold, Federal Practice & Procedure (Thomson West)
  • Robert C. Casad & William B. Richman, Jurisdiction in Civil Actions: Territorial Basis and Process Limitations on Jurisdiction of State and Federal Courts (Lexis Law)
  • E. Osborne Ayscue, Jr., USIS, Issues of Democracy, September 1999
  • James Wm. Moore & Daniel R. Coquillette, Moore’s Federal Practice (Matthew Bender, 2017)
  • Gregory A. Castanias & Robert H. Klonoff, Federal Appellate Practice and Procedure in a Nutshell (Thomson West)
  • Information about Parties to an Action in the Gale Encyclopedia of American Law.
  • Erwin Chemerinsky, Federal Jurisdiction (Aspen Publishers)
  • Robert M. Cover, Owen M. Fiss & Judith Resnik, The Federal Procedural System: A Rule and Statutory Source Book (Foundation Press)
  • Richard H. Fallon, Jr., Daniel J. Meltzer & David L. Shapiro, Hart and Wechsler’s The Federal Courts and the Federal System (Foundation Press)
  • Daniel J. Meador, Thomas E. Baker & Joan E. Steinman, Appellate Courts: Structures, Functions, Processes, and Personnel (LexisNexis)

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