Party ( law ) - Wikipedia Party ( law ) A party is a person or group of persons that compose a single entity which can be identified as one for the purposes of the law. Parties include : plaintiff ( person filing suit ), defendant ( person sued or charged with a crime ), petitioner ( files a petition asking for a court ruling ), respondent ( usually in opposition to a petition or an appeal ), cross-complainant ( a defendant who sues someone else in the same lawsuit ), or cross-defendant ( a person sued by a cross-complainant ). A person who only appears in the case as a witness is not considered a party. Courts use various terms to identify the role of a particular party in civil litigation, usually identifying the party that brings a lawsuit as the plaintiff, or, in older American cases, the party of the first part ; and the party against whom the case was brought as the defendant, or, in older American cases, the party of the second part. See also Erga omnes Ex parte proceeding Inter partes proceeding Intervention ( law ) References Jump up ^ `` Party - legal definition ''. This legal term article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Party_(law)&oldid=762614526 '' Categories : Legal terminology Legal terminology stubs Talk About Wikipedia Čeština Deutsch Español हिन्दी Italiano עברית Lietuvių 日本 語 Polski Português Simple English Suomi Svenska 4 more Edit links This page was last edited on 29 January 2017, at 20 : 59. About Wikipedia

Question: who is considered a party to the action
Answer: a person or group of persons that compose a single entity which can be identified as one for the purposes of the law