Legal Definitions - Petitioner

Definition: The petitioner is the person or party who files a petition or request to the court. In an appeal, the petitioner is usually the party who lost in the lower court and is seeking further proceedings in a higher court. This can be either the plaintiff or defendant from the court below.

• John is the petitioner in the divorce case, as he filed the petition for divorce.
• In an appeal, the defendant from the lower court becomes the petitioner, as they are requesting further proceedings in a higher court.

These examples illustrate how the petitioner is the person or party who initiates legal action by filing a petition or request to the court. In the first example, John is the petitioner because he filed the petition for divorce. In the second example, the defendant becomes the petitioner in the appeal because they are requesting further proceedings in a higher court.