Nominal Defendant Defined

Nominal Defendants

• "Nominal defendants have no responsibility, no fault and no right to recovery," according to U.S. Legal Definitions. This is the complete opposite of and not to be confused with a necessary party who will be directly affected by a lawsuit.
  
  

Nominal Defendant Example

• The following example of a nominal defendant is offered by Law.com Dictionary. Someone is "suing an escrow holder or trustee who is holding a title to real property or deposited funds but has no interest in the property, funds or the lawsuit. Thus the court can order the nominal defendant to transfer title or pay out the funds when the rights of the real parties are decided."
  
  

Nominal Party

• A nominal defendant is also sometimes called a nominal party. Similar to the definition of nominal defendant, a nominal party "refers to the party to the lawsuit who is connected to the case, without any interest or prejudice, so that the court can resolve certain issues or have all the evidence proved with his/her help to give a proper judgment," according to Legal-Explanations.com. As it is with a nominal defendant, "this nominal party will not be affected by the result of the case and is not at fault or considered for any benefits out of it," according to Legal-Explanations.com.