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Variables petitioner and respondent provide detailed information about all parties, except the identity of the state if a state (or one of its subdivisions) is a party, petitioner and respondent variables note only whether a state is a party, not the state's name.
Definition of a Petitioner and Respondent in a Legal Document. Petitioner and respondent are legal terms used to describe the parties involved in a legal action. In civil cases, the petitioner is the party that instigates the legal action and the respondent is the person being sued. For example, in a divorce case, the petitioner is the spouse filing for divorce and the respondent is the other spouse.