Editing Plaintiff (section)

==Terminology<!--'Pursuer' redirects here-->==
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 word ''plaintiff'' can be traced to the year 1278, and stems from the Anglo-French word ''pleintif'' meaning "complaining". It was identical to "[[wikt:plaintive|plaintive]]" at first and receded into legal usage with the -iff spelling in the 15th century.<ref>{{cite web | title=Etymology Online | url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=plaintiff | publisher=etymonline.com | access-date=2008-04-24}}</ref>

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 [[Law of England and Wales|England and Wales]], the term "claimant" replaced "plaintiff" after the [[Civil Procedure Rules]] came into force on 26 April 1999.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules|title=Civil Procedure Rules|work=Ministry of Justice (UK)}}</ref> 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".<ref>BBC, "[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/326414.stm UK Civil courts to modernize]", 24 April 1999</ref> In [[Scottish law]] a plaintiff is referred to as a "'''pursuer'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA-->" and a defendant as a "defender".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scotland-judiciary.org.uk/29/0/Glossary |title=Glossary |publisher=[[Judiciary of Scotland]] |access-date=24 January 2017 |archive-date=19 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819060833/http://www.scotland-judiciary.org.uk/29/0/Glossary |url-status=live }}</ref>

The similar term "complainant" denotes the complaining witness in a criminal proceeding.

In the [[Federal Court of Australia]], most plaintiffs are called "applicants", but in admiralty and corporations law matters they are called "plaintiffs".<ref>[https://www.fedcourt.gov.au/going-to-court/i-am-a-party/court-processes/starting-a-matter Federal Court of Australia – Starting a Matter]</ref>