A Respondent in a matter is the person against whom one’s petition for dissolution, nullity or adoption has been filed.
Respondent refers to the party who has been served with a petition, especially one that is on appeal. It is possible for both parties to be petitioner and respondent in an appeal, therefore the respondent can be either plaintiff or defendant from lower court. In common law equity courts, the defendant was always referred to as the respondent.
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