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

(1) The exposed trim and molding surrounding a door or window. (2) Woodwork which encases a pipe or structural member. (3) Method of creating a form for the pouring of concrete. ...

Similar property. Comparing like property. properties that are side by side but do not meet. They are in the same direction with a constant distance. ...

Transfer of personal property via a will as a gift to the recipient. ...

The concept of a release can define various meanings in the financial and real estate business. Typically, it establishes a discharge or literal escape from a loan borrower's economic ...

A reduction in structural value from all reasons except physical failure. For example, a commercial building having an outdated elevator or electrical wiring system is experiencing ...

In a broader sense, Full Disclosure means presenting all information (significant or not, classified or not) related to a certain matter. In Real Estate, the term “Full ...

Plywood whose surface is given parallel scratches or grooves in the manufacturing process. It provides, increased bond to adhesives, mortar, plaster, or stucco as well as giving a grain ...

Expenditures incurred to initially purchase property, including incidental costs necessary to put the property into existing use and location. This cost is then depreciated over the assets ...

A proposal to buy property at a specified price. The seller of the property has the options of accepting the offer, rejecting it, or making a counteroffer. For example, John signs a listing ...

Popular Real Estate Questions