Appellant
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.
Popular Real Estate Terms
(1) Licensed broker employed to represent and match both buyers and sellers. Usually employs several real estate agents in an office. (2) Commission or fee charged to sell real estate or ...
Gets rid of unwanted substances and materials from a residence or office building. Waste includes solids and liquids, hazardous and nonhazardous materials. ...
Opening so that air or gas may enter or leave. For example, an air conditioner has a "vent open" or "vent closed" knob for outside air. The "vent close" switch must be on for air ...
Millennials – also known as Generation Y, because they come after the so-called Generation X - is a term coined for a generational extract of people born at the end of the first ...
Land and any existing tenements that are part of a conveyance. For example, upon closing a real estate sale. The seller deeds the premises to the purchaser. ...
Note having more than one maker, if one or more of the makers default on the note, all makers are sued jointly, rather than just one or all, to make restitution ...
A method of brick construction where the bricks are laid with their sides facing outward. ...
When talking about the open space ratio we are referring to a term that is used in zoning laws and regulations. The open space ratio is a term used to measure open space on a developed land ...
Method to obtaining title to property through open, notorious, adverse, and continuous use of the property for a statutorily prescribed period of time. For example, Jack openly and ...

Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.