Legal Definitions - et alius

Et alius is a Latin phrase meaning "and another (person)." In legal documents and citations, this term is almost exclusively encountered in its abbreviated form, et al. (pronounced "et ahl"). While et alius specifically refers to a single additional male person, the abbreviation et al. is a broader shorthand for "et alii" (and others, masculine plural), "et aliae" (and others, feminine plural), or "et alia" (and others, neuter plural). Regardless of its specific Latin root in a given instance, et al. is used to indicate that there are additional unnamed parties, authors, or individuals involved beyond those explicitly listed. It serves to shorten lengthy lists and streamline references.

Here are some examples of how et al. is used:

• Court Case Caption: Imagine a lawsuit where many individuals are suing a company. Instead of listing every single plaintiff, a court document might summarize the case as: "Plaintiff A, et al. v. Big Corporation."

  This means the lawsuit was filed by Plaintiff A and other unnamed plaintiffs against Big Corporation. The "et al." indicates that there are additional plaintiffs involved in the case who are not explicitly named in that particular reference, saving space and simplifying the caption.

• Legal Citation for a Scholarly Article: When citing a research paper published in a law review that has multiple authors, a legal scholar might write: "Smith, J., Chen, L., et al., 'The Impact of AI on Contract Law,' 105 Harv. L. Rev. 45 (2024)."

  Here, "et al." signifies that there were additional authors beyond J. Smith and L. Chen who contributed to the article. For brevity in the citation, only the first two authors are listed, with "et al." standing in for the rest.

• Contractual Agreement: Consider a complex business deal involving several subsidiary companies signing an agreement. The introductory paragraph might state: "This Agreement is made and entered into by and between Main Company, Inc., and its subsidiaries, et al., and Partner Group LLC."

  In this context, "et al." indicates that there are other subsidiary companies or related entities of Main Company, Inc. that are also parties to the agreement, even though they are not individually named in that specific introductory clause. It encompasses all the additional unnamed signatories.