Parties to a Civil Suit

Definition of Parties

Parties to an action are important because a court can only resolve a dispute if the right parties are before it. Where the status of parties is not determined, it goes to the root of the matter.

Parties to civil actions are the persons by whom or against whom a civil action is instituted - persons whose names appear on the record as plaintiffs or defendants – Green v Green (1987) LPELR-1338(SC).

Designation of Parties

The mode of commencing an action determines the designation of parties:

Mode of Commencement	Designation
Writ of summons / originating summons (Lagos and Abuja)	Claimant v Defendant
Petition	Petitioner v Respondent
Originating motion / application	Applicant v Respondent
On appeal	Appellant v Respondent

Capacity to Sue and Be Sued

Only legal or juristic persons have the capacity to sue or be sued. Where a party lacks capacity:

• Such party’s name will be struck out;
• If that party is the sole claimant or sole defendant, the action is struck out as incompetent.

See Shitta v Ligali (1941); Agbonmagbe Bank Ltd v General Manager, GB Olivant Ltd; Okechukwu & Sons v Ndah (1967); Njemanze v Shell Dev Coy, Port Harcourt (1966).

Where competence is challenged, the onus of proving legal capacity lies on the plaintiff/claimant. A plaintiff cannot maintain an action against a defendant who has no capacity to be sued.

Classes of Legal Persons

Legal persons are classified into:

1. Natural persons;
2. Artificial persons.

Natural Persons

Natural persons are human beings and have capacity to sue or be sued, but some must sue or be sued through other humans - infants, lunatics, bankrupts – Order 15 r 9 Lagos; Order 13 Rule 11 Abuja.