j:CaseRespondentParty

An entity in a court case that is required to answer a petition for a court order or writ requiring the respondent to take some action, halt an activity or obey a courts direction. In such matters the moving party (the one filing the petition) is usually called the petitioner. Thus, the respondent is equivalent to a defendant in a lawsuit. On an appeal, the party who must respond to an appeal by the losing party in the trial court (called appellant) in the appeals court. The accused in a domestic violence case or civil action; a person responding to a Request or Petition for Protection filed by a petitioner.