Also known as: et alii · et al. · et al · and others
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A Latin phrase meaning and another. It is used in legal documents and case captions to indicate the presence of one or more additional unnamed parties alongside those expressly named.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Mortgagee Eastern Electric initiated foreclosure against mortgagor Eric Espinoza et alius. The complaint listed junior lienholders and current tenants as necessary parties. Because the tenants received no notice of the proceeding, the court refused to extinguish their interests in the property after the sale.
Landlord Everest Holdings leased an apartment to tenant Elena Estrada et alius without disclosing a known structural defect in the balcony. After a guest fell through the rotted railing, the court held the landlord liable for the resulting injuries because the tenant lacked knowledge of the risk.
Adverse user Ethan Evans et alius crossed neighboring land for the statutory period to reach a public road. The court ruled that the resulting prescriptive easement accrued to the benefit of all owners of the dominant parcel, not merely the initial user.
Elemental Pharmaceuticals supplied a powerful solvent to a small laboratory run by Elise Everly et alius. Knowing the lab lacked proper safety equipment, the company was held liable when an inexperienced technician suffered chemical burns while using the solvent without supervision.
The personal representative of an estate sold estate property to a relative without court approval, causing loss to the heirs. The court held the representative liable to Esther Eisenberg et alius for the resulting damages under the same standards applied to trustees of express trusts.
Landlord Elysium Media promised in the lease to maintain the common stairway used by tenant Eva Espinosa et alius. After the landlord failed to repair a broken step despite notice, a visitor fell and was injured. The court imposed liability on the landlord for breach of the repair covenant.
Et alius is used when additional parties exist beyond those named, allowing the caption to remain concise while still identifying all necessary participants in the proceeding.
Supporting sources
Failure to provide actual notice to necessary parties listed only as et alius can prevent the extinguishment of their interests, particularly in foreclosure or other actions affecting property rights.
…have a remedy, and every injury its proper redress. There are some injuries which can only be redressed by a writ of mandamus and others by a writ of prohibition. There must then be a jurisdiction somewhere competent to issue that kind of process; where are we to look for it but in that court which the Constitution and laws…