PARTY

party. 1. One who takes part in a transaction <a party to the contract>. [Cases: Contracts 177. C.J.S. Contracts § 363.]

“Note, that if an Indenture be made between two as Parties thereto in the Beginning, and in the Deed one of them grants or lets a Thing to another who is not named in the Beginning, he is not Party to the Deed, nor shall take any Thing thereby.” John Rastell, Les Termes de la Ley 471 (26th ed. 1721).

“A person who takes part in a legal transaction or proceeding is said to be a party to it. Thus, if an agreement, conveyance, lease, or the like, is entered into between A. and B., they are said to be parties to it; and the same expression is often, though not very correctly, applied to the persons named as the grantors or releasors in a deed-poll.” 2 Stewart Rapalje & Robert L. Lawrence, A Dictionary of American and English Law 930 (1883).

party of the first part.Archaic. The party named first in a contract; esp., the owner or seller. party of the second part.Archaic. The party named second in a contract; esp., the buyer.

2. One by or against whom a lawsuit is brought <a party to the lawsuit>. • For purposes of res judicata, a party to a lawsuit is a person who has been named as a party and has a right to control the lawsuit either personally or, if not fully competent, through someone appointed to protect the person’s interests. [Cases: Federal Civil Procedure  101.]

adverse party. A party whose interests are opposed to the interests of another party to the action. Cf. hostile witness under WITNESS.

aggrieved party. A party entitled to a remedy; esp., a party whose personal, pecuniary, or property rights have been adversely affected by another person’s actions or by a court’s decree or judgment. — Also termed party aggrieved; person aggrieved. [Cases: Action  13; Appeal and Error  151; Federal Civil Procedure  103.2. C.J.S. Actions § 57–63; Appeal and Error § 168.] coparty. See COPARTY.

fictitious party. A person who is named in a writ, complaint, or record as a party in a suit, but who does not actually exist, or a person who is named as a plaintiff but is unaware of the suit and did not consent to be named.

formal party. See nominal party.

indispensable party. A party who, having interests that would inevitably be affected by a court’s judgment, must be included in the case. • If such a party is not included, the case must be dismissed. Fed. R. Civ. P. 19(b). Cf. necessary party. [Cases: Federal Civil Procedure  203; Parties  18, 29. C.J.S. Parties §§ 3–5, 48–49.]

innocent party. A party who did not consciously or intentionally participate in an event or transaction.

interested party. A party who has a recognizable stake (and therefore standing) in a matter.

— Abbr. IP. [Cases: Action  13; Federal Civil Procedure  103.2. C.J.S. Actions §§ 57–63.] joint party.See COPARTY.

necessary party. A party who, being closely connected to a lawsuit, should be included in the case if feasible, but whose absence will not require dismissal of the proceedings. See compulsory joinder under JOINDER. Cf. indispensable party. [Cases: Federal Civil Procedure  202; Parties 18, 29. C.J.S. Parties §§ 3–5, 48–49.]

nominal party. A party to an action who has no control over it and no financial interest in its outcome; esp., a party who has some immaterial interest in the subject matter of a lawsuit and who will not be affected by any judgment, but who is nonetheless joined in the lawsuit to avoid procedural defects. • An example is the disinterested stakeholder in a garnishment action. — Also termed formal party. Cf. real party in interest. [Cases: Federal Civil Procedure  102; Parties  4. C.J.S. Parties §§ 7, 17–20.]

party aggrieved. See aggrieved party. party cast.The losing party in a lawsuit. party in interest.See real party in interest. party opponent.An adversary in a legal proceeding. — Sometimes written party-opponent.

party to be charged. A defendant in an action to enforce a contract falling within the statute of frauds.

prevailing party. A party in whose favor a judgment is rendered, regardless of the amount of damages awarded <in certain cases, the court will award attorney’s fees to the prevailing party>. — Also termed successful party. See Buckhannon Bd. & Care Home, Inc. v. West Va. Dep’t of Health & Human Res., 532 U.S. 598, 603, 121 S.Ct. 1835, 1839 (2001) (relying on the seventh edition of Black’s Law Dictionary [1999]). [Cases: Costs  32, 194.14; Federal Civil Procedure 2737.1. C.J.S. Costs §§ 10, 126.]

proper party. A party who may be joined in a case for reasons of judicial economy but whose presence is not essential to the proceeding. See permissive joinder under JOINDER. [Cases: Federal Civil Procedure  241; Parties  14, 25. C.J.S. Parties §§ 3–5, 41–43, 45–47, 56–57, 59–63.]

real party in interest. A person entitled under the substantive law to enforce the right sued upon and who generally, but not necessarily, benefits from the action’s final outcome. — Also termed party in interest; (archaically) interessee. Cf. nominal party. [Cases: Federal Civil Procedure  131; Parties  6(2). C.J.S. Parties §§ 23–24.]

“[T]he ‘real party in interest’ is the party who, by the substantive law, possesses the right sought to be enforced, and not necessarily the person who will ultimately benefit from the recovery…. The concept of real party in interest should not be confused with the concept of standing. The standing question arises in the realm of public law, when governmental action is attacked on the ground that it violates private rights or some constitutional principle…. Unfortunately, … confusion between standing on the one hand and real party in interest or capacity on the other has been increasing.” Charles Alan Wright, The Law of Federal Courts § 70, at 490 & n.2 (5th ed. 1994).

successful party. See prevailing party. third party.See THIRD PARTY.

3.POLITICAL PARTY.

[Blacks Law 8th]