Montana Title 3. Judiciary, Courts § 3-11-302. Who named as plaintiff

(1) A criminal action brought for violation of a city or town ordinance must be brought in the name of the city or town as the plaintiff and against the accused as the defendant.

(2) A criminal action brought for violation of a state law within the city or town may be brought either in the name of the state of Montana as the plaintiff or in the name of the city or town as the plaintiff and must be brought against the accused as the defendant.

(3) A criminal action brought for violation of a state law within the county and within its concurrent jurisdiction with the justice's court must be brought in the name of the state of Montana as the plaintiff and against the accused as the defendant.

(4) A civil action brought in the city court must be prosecuted or defended in the same manner as a civil action in justices' courts under the Montana Justice and City Court Rules of Civil Procedure (Title 25, chapter 23).