First Principles of Business Law

7.3. Identifying the plaintiff and defendant

When a civil case goes before a court for the first time (a court of first instance) the party initiating the case is referred to as the plaintiff and the other party is called the defendant. The plaintiff's name appears first in the name of the report, followed by the defendant's name.

If a case goes on appeal, whoever is appealing is referred to as the appellant and the other party is called the respondent. Generally, the appellant's name appears first in the report of the appeal, followed by the respondent's name.  The report of Home Office v Dorset Yacht Co Ltd in the All England Law Reports is an example of this - the Home Office is the appellant and the Yacht Club is the respondent.

But don't simply assume the appellant is always named first in the citation of appeal cases - check the facts in the report to make sure.