when naming a lawsuit?

Question

in galella v onassis, was this an appeal? Since onassis sought the injuction against galella, I assumed it would be case Onassis v galella.

Answer 1

Depends on the state.

Answer 2

Plaintiff vs Defendant

In the case you are speaking of, Galella filed a claim in court alleging that Onassis was involved in him being arrested in a separate charge. Since Galella is the plaintiff, the case is called Galella v Onassis. The original court found for Onassis, so Galella appealed. The case name remains the same.

Answer 3

There's many possibilities.

As you suggested, this could be an appeal... O could have won the injunction at the trial level, then G appealed, and the state could put the appellant first regardless of whether they were the plaintiff at the trial court.

It's also possible that G could have sued for declaratory relief before O sued for the injunction. Often times, if O is threatening suing for an injunction, G will file the lawsuit first so that the court will tell him whether he is doing right or wrong. In that case G would be the plaintiff (because he filed the complaint), but O would be the natural plaintiff (the one who would be seeking relief in a normal lawsuit).

It could also be that G filed a suit for monetary damages or something like that... because O did something to G and G didn't like it and wants O to pay it back or stop doing something... then O could have counterclaimed for the injunction.

Without looking it up and knowing the case, I can't tell you which of these scenarios is true.

Answer 4

At the trial level, the Plaintiff's name appears first. At the appellate level, the Appellant's name appears first. For example, the original case against Miranda (the Miranda rights case) was titled State v. Miranda in the Arizona criminal courts. However, Miranda appealed, and the appellate case was entitled Miranda v. Arizona.

Answer 5

The case name does not change even when appealed.