the.com/respondent
The person defending themselves after someone else decided to make it legal.
means The party who has to answer a legal petition, complaint, or lawsuit that someone else filed against them.
from From Latin respondere — 're-' (back) plus 'spondere' (to pledge or promise) — meaning literally 'to pledge back' or 'to answer in kind.' 'Spondere' is also the ancestor of 'sponsor' and 'spouse,' words tied to formal vows and promises. A respondent, then, is someone legally bound to give an answer back — the law's way of saying 'your turn to pledge a reply.'
- not plaintiff
- They didn't start this, they're stuck in it
- divorce cases
- usually means the one who got served
- surveys vs court
- same word, wildly different stress levels
- default risk
- ignore it and the other side wins automatically