Editing Plaintiff

{{Short description|Party which initiates a court case}}
{{Redirect|Pursuer|the comic book character by that name|Pursuer (comics)|the Waikymas on the Lithuanian coat of arms|Coat of arms of Lithuania}}
{{more citations needed|date=December 2007}}
A '''plaintiff''' ('''[[pi (letter)|Π]]''' in [[List of legal abbreviations|legal shorthand]]) is the party who initiates a [[lawsuit]] (also known as an ''action'') before a [[court]]. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a [[legal remedy]]. If this search is successful, the court will issue [[Judgment (law)|judgment]] in favor of the plaintiff and make the appropriate [[court order]] (e.g., an order for [[damages]]). 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 the [[Civil Procedure Rules]] in 1999, been known as a "'''claimant'''" and Scotland, where the party has always been known as the "'''pursuer'''". In criminal cases, the [[prosecutor]] brings the case against the defendant, but the key complaining party is often called the "'''complainant'''".

In some [[jurisdiction]]s, a lawsuit is commenced by filing a [[summons]], claim form or a [[complaint]]. These documents are known as [[pleading]]s, that set forth the alleged wrongs committed by the [[defendant]] or defendants with a demand for relief. In other jurisdictions, the action is commenced by service of [[legal process]] by delivery of these documents on the defendant by a process server; they are only filed with the court subsequently with an [[affidavit]] from the process server that they had been given to the defendant according to the rules of [[civil procedure]].

==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>

==In case names==
Case names are usually given with the plaintiff first, as in ''Plaintiff v. Defendant'' (orally, ''Plaintiff '''and''' Defendant''). The party against whom the complaint is made is the [[defendant]]; 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.<ref>{{cite book|title=New York Official Reports Style Manual|publisher=New York State Law Reporting Bureau|location=Albany, New York|date=2012|accessdate=April 7, 2023|url=https://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/new_styman.htm#1.3%20%28b%29}}</ref>

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), named ''the Crown,'' abbreviated ''R'', thus ''R 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 as ''The People of the State of'', followed by the name of the state, or ''People'' for short.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Place of 'The People' in Criminal Procedure|first=Jocelyn|last=Simonson|journal=[[Columbia Law Review]]|volume=119|issue=1|date=2019|url=https://columbialawreview.org/content/the-place-of-the-people-in-criminal-procedure/}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Wiktionary|plaintiff|petitioner|claimant|complainant|dispute}}
* [[Brief (law)]]
* [[Conclusion of law]]
* [[Legal financing]]
* [[Defendant]]
* [[Lawsuit]]
* [[Findings of facts]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Common law legal terminology]]
[[Category:Judicial legal terminology]]