Defendant Definition: The individual, company or organization who defends a legal action taken by a plaintiff and against whom the court has been asked to order damages or specific corrective action redress some type of unlawful or improper action alleged by the plaintiff. Related Terms: Plaintiff, Respondent, Tort-Feasor, Accused, Litigant A defendant is one who responds and defends a court action initiated by a plaintiff. Some legal disputes are taken by way of a petition in which case the initiator is called a petitioner and the defending party, the respondent. Generally, however, the defendant starts his participation in a trial by responding to a statement of claim by way of a statement of defence and, if the facts lend themselves to it, a counterclaim. In a tort or personal injury action, the defendant is always the person whom, it is alleged, is the tort-feasor; the plaintiff being the alleged injured party. In a third party claim, it is the defendant who seeks to draw in a third party. Categories & Topics: Civil Litigation & Evidence Law Dictionary Criminal Law Dictionary Tort and Personal Injury Law Dictionary Find you are constantly looking up definitions? Try our search provider (works in most modern browsers) If you find an error or omission in Duhaime's Legal Dictionary, or if you have legal term suggestion, we'd love to hear from you!