(A) A term sometimes used instead of defendant or appellee, which depends upon the state and the court, for example, a petitioner for a divorce with responding party being the respondent. Landlord tenant courts may laso refer to the landlord as the petitioner for an eviction. (B) practice. The party who makes an answer to a bill or other proceeding in chancery. In the civil law, this term signifies one who answers or is security for another.
Law Dictionary – Alternative Legal Definition
The party who makes an answer to a bill or other proceeding in chancery. The party who appeals against the judgment of an inferior court is termed the “appellant;” and he who contends against the appeal, the “respondent” The word also denotes the person upon whom an ordinary petition in the court of chancery (or a libel in admiralty) is served, and who is, as it were, a defendant thereto. The terms “respondent” and. “co-respondent” are used in like manner in proceedings in the divorce court. Brown; Brower v. Nellis, 6 Ind App. 323, 33 N. E. 672; Code Cr. Proc N. Y. 1903,