Definition of "Appellant"

Lisa McKeon real estate agent

Written by

Lisa McKeonelite badge icon

Douglas Elliman

The appellant definition references a concept related to legal proceedings. The appellant is the individual who is dissatisfied with the judgment in a lawsuit and asks for a superior court to review the decision. In order to appeal a court’s decision, the appellant must show that they have sufficient grounds for an appeal. Without sufficient grounds, they can not challenge the court’s judgment.

What does Appellant Mean?

In order to define appellant, we must understand how general legal proceedings go. For example, if John sues Jane and wins, Jane is allowed to file an appeal if she is dissatisfied with the result of the initial suit. In that case, Jane is the appellant and John is the appellee. If Jane wins the appeal, John can appeal as well, and the roles are reversed. In this case, the word appellant can be replaced by petitioner.

The most common situation when an appellant can appeal a lawsuit is if they lost in the trial court and appeal to the supreme court for a reversal or modification of the trial court judgment. The status of the appellant isn’t relevant as either plaintiff or defendant can become appellants. Similarly, it doesn’t matter if the appellant won or lost the case. If they have enough grounds to appeal the court’s decision and ask for a superior court to review the decision, they can.

How can one Become an Appellant?

As stated above, a trial court has to occur where one of the parties is dissatisfied with the result. Either the plaintiff or defendant can have grounds for appeal, even if they win the case. The decision to appeal comes from that dissatisfaction or the belief that the court made a mistake. Whether the appellant lost the case at the lower court level or won and was unhappy with the lower court’s decision, they can appeal to a higher court to review the decision.

Some legitimate legal grounds for an appeal are jurisdiction, jury instructions, evidentiary error.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

The meaning of an undisclosed principal in everyday use often refers to a confidential client who intends to keep their identity hidden. Typically, this individual remains in the background ...

Reduction in taxes payable to the IRS or local government. A tax credit is more beneficial to the taxpayer than an itemized deduction because it reduces taxes on a dollar-for-dollar basis. ...

Sudden, drastic change in organization, direction, objectives, strategies, or functioning. It is often associated with a new owner who wants things his way. Managers and employees may ...

Charges resulting in involuntary encumbrances against real property derived from legislated law rather than from debts owed to organizations o r individuals. For example, of a homeowner ...

The initial cost of a home plus any expense for final settlement that are not tax deductible plus capital improvements. ...

Rights granted to owners of property restricted to conservation use, historic preservation, or some other low density function to sell to other landowners allowing them to develop their ...

In land surveying, the point al which two properties intersect constituting a boundary line between the properties. A corner can be determined by either a survey or general agreement ...

The meaning of undue influence revolves around a control one individual can exert upon another to persuade them to do something that won’t be beneficial for the influenced party. ...

Helps in supporting a building. ...

Popular Real Estate Questions