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

Appraisal method that examines current and future economic conditions in a particular location to help in deriving property values ...

Low level of land positioned between mountains or hills. ...

Appropriateness of the soil for the designated purposes. An example is soil suitable for the growing of vegetables and fruit, or grazing for horses. ...

Concrete or timber beam that serves as a support in the wall structure of a building. Concrete tie beams are often reinforced with steel rods. ...

Lender has an equity interest in the property that is the subject of the loan. The lender shares in the increase in market price of the property as well as any net income generated. ...

Danger, hazard, risk, or peril. For example, jeopardizing a piece of property by pledging it as collateral for a loan. ...

System for human waste disposal where sewers do not exist. Pipes transport waste into septic tank and a leaching field purifies the fluids that come out of the septic tank before they join ...

Documentation of zoning requirements and changes thereto. ...

Investment made rationally and intelligently as would be expected by a professional person. A reasonable degree of safety and return are expected. A example is an office building with 99% ...

Popular Real Estate Questions