Appearance (law)
In law, an appearance (from Latin apparere, to appear) occurs when a party to a lawsuit physically appears in court, or to a formal act through which a defendant submits to the jurisdiction of the court in which the lawsuit is pending. History The defendant in an action in the High Court of England enters his appearance to the writ of summons by delivering, either at the central office of the Supreme Court, or a district registry, a written memorandum either giving his solicitor's name or stating that he defends in person. He must also give notice to the plaintiff of his appearance, which ought, according to the time limited by the writ, to be within eight days after service; a defendant may, however, appear any time before judgment. The Rules of the Supreme Court, orders xii. and xiii., regulate the procedure with respect to the entering of an appearance, the giving of notice, the limit of time, the setting aside and the general effect of default of appearance. In county courts there is no appearance other than the coming into court of the parties to the suit. In criminal cases the accused appears in person. In civil cases infants appear by their guardians ad litem; lunatics by their committee; companies by a solicitor; friendly societies by the trustee or other officer appointed to sue or be sued on behalf thereof. Forms An appearance may occur when a party physically appears in a court proceeding, or through the filing of a written document with the court. Failure to appear in a timely manner may result in the entry of a default against the non-appearing party. By default, a party's appearance in a court proceeding is unconditional. The effect is to acknowledge the court's jurisdiction over the party who has made the appearance, and to waive any irregularity in service or commencement of proceedings. In order to avoid conceding jurisdiction, waiving irregularities, or both, a party may file a conditional appearance. A conditional appearance has two primary forms, the limited appearance, which disputes liability to the limited extent of identified property, and the special appearance, which allows a defendant to dispute the personal jurisdiction of the court over the defendant so as to avoid default while the defendant seeks the dismissal of the action. A conditional appearance may be both conditional and special. Limited appearance A limited appearance is a term used in the United States law of civil procedure to describe a civil defendant's appearance in a quasi in rem action in the court of another state to dispute liability to the limited extent of the value of the property seized by that court. This strategy allows the defendant to dispute only that amount seized, though this amount is less than the total amount in controversy, thus limiting his personal liability. Before the advent of this procedural device, a defendant faced the dilemma of either allowing his property to be seized with no defense and sold at sheriff's sale to