Counterclaim

Beginner ⚖️ Legal

Definition

A claim filed by the defendant against the plaintiff in the same lawsuit. It's 'no, YOU owe ME money' in legal form.

Example Usage

The defendant filed a counterclaim for unpaid rent after the landlord sued for property damage.

Origin

From legal procedure allowing defendants to assert their own claims

Fun Fact

Counterclaims can sometimes exceed the original claim in value, turning the tables on the plaintiff.

Source: Civil procedure

Related Terms

Advanced

preclusion

The legal equivalent of slamming a door in someone's face—it's when you're prevented from doing something, raising an issue, or re-litigating a matter that's already been decided. Courts use preclusion doctrines to prevent parties from getting infinite do-overs on the same legal questions. Once the gavel falls and preclusion kicks in, that argument is dead and buried, no matter how much you'd like to resurrect it.

⚖️ Legal
Intermediate

trustees

The responsible adults who legally babysit someone else's money, property, or estate because the actual owner either can't, won't, or is no longer around to manage it themselves. They're like financial guardians with actual legal obligations and fiduciary duties, not just good intentions. Mess it up, and you're not just a bad friend—you're facing lawsuits.

⚖️ Legal
Intermediate

accelerant

A substance that speeds up chemical reactions, most famously known for making fires spread faster—which is why arson investigators get really interested when they find petroleum products at fire scenes. In startup speak, it's sometimes used metaphorically for anything that rapidly grows a business, though actual accelerants are far more literal and illegal. Either way, things are about to get hot quickly.

⚖️ Legal
Intermediate

motion to compel

A formal request asking the judge to force the other side to comply with discovery requests they've been avoiding. It's the legal equivalent of tattling to the teacher when someone won't share.

⚖️ Legal
Advanced

extraterritorialities

The plural of extraterritoriality, the legal status granting exemption from the jurisdiction and laws of the territory where someone or something is located. This immunity is typically granted to diplomats, international organizations, or military personnel operating in foreign lands.

⚖️ Legal
Beginner

Damages

The amount of money a court says your suffering is worth, which is always simultaneously too much according to the defendant and not nearly enough according to you. Putting a price tag on misery is basically the legal system's entire business model.

⚖️ Legal

Translate This Term

See “Counterclaim” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

Try the Translator

Share This Term

Post on XShare on FacebookShare on LinkedIn

Discover a Term

Beginner

showing feedback

The brutally honest (or diplomatically evasive) comments agents collect after property showings, ranging from 'loved it!...