Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Defendant definition

What does Defendant mean? In legal practice, “defendant” describes the party against whom court proceedings are brought, whether a civil claim or a criminal charge. In England and Wales the term is defined in the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR 2.3) as a person against whom a claim is made; it is also used in the Criminal Procedure Rules. Northern Ireland follows similar usage. In Scotland, the civil counterpart is the “defender” (claimant is the pursuer), and in criminal cases the person is referred to as the “accused” (also the “panel” in solemn proceedings). In Ireland, civil procedure uses “defendant” under the Rules of...

Deed of Litigation Co‑operation between Co‑Claimants: Joint Solicitors’ Instructions, Cost and Adverse Cost Sharing, Damages Allocation and Binding Barrister Determination (England and Wales)

Published by a LexisNexis Dispute Resolution expert

Precedents

This Deed is dated [ date ]

Parties

[ name ], of [ address ], [ company number ] (‘A Limited’)
[ name ], of [ address ], [ company number ] (‘B Limited’)

together the ‘Claimants’.

Background

A Limited and B Limited are Claimants in High Court proceedings in the [ Chancery Division ], under Claim No. [ insert number ], against the Defendant[s]. The Solicitors act for the Claimants in the Litigation.
The Claimants were previously wholly-owned subsidiaries of [ Z limited ]. Following the commencement of the Litigation, B Limited ceased to be within [ Z Limited’s ] Ownership and is now controlled by new owners.
The Claimants propose to enter into an agreement governing the conduct of the Litigation, with particular regard to the apportionment of legal Costs, the settlement of Liabilities incurred, and the distribution of any benefits realised...

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Mark Surguy

Weightmans

I am a career-long private practice general commercial litigator with particular expertise in complex commercial fraud. I have a special interest in computer forensics and E-Discovery, and I am the consulting editor of “International E-Discovery” published by Globe Law & Business.As an adjunct to my involvement in criminal and civil fraud cases I also give advice in respect of data privacy and insolvency.My practice encompasses cross-border investigations and litigation and I am very involved with my firm’s international membership of Legalink.I am a regular speaker and writer on subjects concerning data management, fraud and e-discovery.From 2012-2018 I chaired the Midlands Fraud Forum....

Amy Mullen

Weightmans

Amy has experience working on a broad variety of legal disputes, ranging from contractual disputes (including breach of contract and breach of restrictive covenant claims across a variety of different sectors and industries), unfair prejudice claims, directors and shareholder disputes, as well as various GDPR, defamation and intellectual property claims.Amy’s experience ranges from assisting client’s with pre-action advice and settlements to managing cases all the way through to trial. Amy has worked on cases of various values and complexities in County Courts, the High Court as well as the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. Notably, Amy was part of the team representing UK Trucks Claim Limited within the Supreme Court case R (on the application of PACCAR Inc and others) v Competition Appeal Tribunal and others [2023] UKSC 28, a landmark case concerning the enforceability of litigation funding...

Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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