Definition:
A plaintiff is the person bringing a civil lawsuit to court. In a criminal case, it might be said that the plaintiff is the state. In most cases the plaintiff has the "burden of proof;" that is, the plaintiff is required to prove his or her case is true.
Also Known As: In an arbitration case, the person bringing the case before an arbitrator is the claimanant.
Common Misspellings: plaintive (not the same word)
Examples:
The plaintiff's attorney set out the case against the defendant at the beginning of the trial.
