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LSDefine
Simple English definitions for legal terms
codefendant
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A quick definition of codefendant:
A codefendant is someone who is being sued or accused of committing a crime along with one or more other people. For example, if someone sues two people, those two people are codefendants. If one of the defendants sues someone else in the same lawsuit, that person is called a third-party codefendant.
A more thorough explanation:
A codefendant is a legal term used to describe one of multiple defendants who are jointly sued in the same civil action or formally accused of committing the same crime.
If a person named A sues two people named B and C, then B and C are codefendants. This means that they are both being sued by A for the same reason.
Another example is when a defendant sues a different plaintiff within the context of a single lawsuit by means of impleader. In this case, any impleaded party in addition to the originally impleaded party is called a third-party codefendant. For instance, if A sues B, and B sues C and D within the context of the lawsuit between A and B, B is a third-party plaintiff; C is a third-party defendant; and D is a third-party codefendant.
These examples illustrate how codefendants are individuals who are being sued or accused of the same crime together. They are often jointly responsible for the outcome of the case and may share legal representation.