Contract law addresses agreements between two parties.Tort law

addresses wrongs other than a breach of contract, by which one party

injures another. Property law deals with all aspects of ownership and

possession of both tangible things and intangible rights. Our whole eco-

nomic system is based upon the rights of individuals to acquire and use

private property.

Historically, conflicts among individuals and businesses that could

not be resolved by the parties have been formally resolved by utilizing the

court system. The process of resolving conflicts through lawsuits filed in

court is known as litigation.

The party who files a civil action seeking money damages is called the

plaintiff. The party sued is known as the defendant. The term defendant

is used to describe the person against whom a criminal charge is filed by

the prosecuting state or federal government. When a defendant wants to

sue the plaintiff, the defendant files a counterclaim. Most jurisdictions

use the term counterplaintiff and counterdefendant to describe the par-

ties to the counterclaim. Thus, the defendant becomes a counterplaintiff

and the plaintiff also becomes a counterdefendant when a counterclaim

is filed.

In actions involving equitable relief, the party initiating the case is

the petitioner. The other party in an equity case is the respondent. The

same terms are used when a petition for a writ of certiorari is filed after

the right to an appeal has been exhausted.

When the result at the trial court level is appealed, the party appealing

is usually referred to as the appellant, and the successful party in the trial

court is called the appellee. Most jurisdictions, in publishing decisions

of reviewing courts, list the appellant first and the appellee second, even

though the appellant may have been the defendant in the trial court.

As a result, the names used in a case are somewhat misleading. Since

the party first named is not always the plaintiff, you need to be aware

in studying cases, that the first-named party in the case title may be the

defendant-appellant.

In most state jurisdictions and in federal courts, the law allows all

persons to join in one lawsuit as plaintiffs if the causes of action arise out

of the same transaction or series of transactions and involve common

questions of law or fact. In addition, plaintiffs may join as defendants

all persons who are necessary to a complete determination or resolution

of the questions involved. It is not necessary that each defendant have a

personal stake in every claim.

In addition, if a defendant alleges that there cannot be a complete

determination of a controversy without the presence of other parties, he

or she may bring in new third parties as third-party defendants. This pro-

cedure usually is followed when there is someone who may have liability

to a defendant if the defendant has liability to the plaintiff.

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The paragraphs of the text have been jumbled. Read the text and put them into the

right order.