The Law Dictionary

Your Free Online Legal Dictionary • Featuring Black’s Law Dictionary, 2nd Ed.

EX PARTE Definition & Legal Meaning

Definition & Citations:

On one side only; by or for one party; done for, in behalf of, or on theapplication of, one party only. A judicial proceeding, order, injunction, etc., is said to beex parte when it is taken or granted at the instance and for the benefit of one partyonly, and without notice to. or contestation by, any person adversely interested.”Ex parte,” in the heading of a reported case, signifies that tbe name following isthat of the party upon whose application the case is heard.In its primary sense, ex parte, as applied to an application in a judicial proceeding,means that it is made by a person who is not a party to the proceeding, but who has aninterest in the matter which entitles him to make the application. Thus, in a bankruptcyproceeding or an administration action, an application by A. B.. a creditor, or the like,would be described as made “ex parte A. B.,”

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