Style of legal cases

[Segilla]

Am I right in thinking that in e.g., Smith v. Jones, Smith is the Plaintiff, Jones the Defendant - and has it always been so, back as far as 1757?

[scotman]

My understanding is the same as yours. Plaintiff vs Defendant, I can't comment on the history.

[mike11111]

The first named is the plaintiff, although in civil cases the term used now is 'claimant'.
When the new rules came into effect a few years ago, a barrister stood up in court at the start of a trial and said, "M'lud, I represent the plaintiff", to which the judge replied, "no you don't, you represent the claimant". It goes back a lot further than 1757 I think.