as in complaint
a court case brought against the plaintiff of another court case by the defendant
The defendant filed a counterclaim for his own injuries, claiming that he only rear-ended the plaintiff because she had stopped too fast.
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Recent Examples of counterclaim
Smollett then filed a counterclaim against the city.
—
Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2025
The building’s owner filed a counterclaim against Fannie Mae, accusing it of breach of contract, and breach of good faith and fair dealing.
—Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 19 Mar. 2025
Fletcher last year filed a counterclaim against Figueroa, accusing her of defamation, and the two claims have since been consolidated into a single proceeding.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Feb. 2025
In addition to the counterclaim, Robinson’s legal team filed a motion to strike the accusers’ initial lawsuit, finding issue with their decision to remain anonymous.
—Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for counterclaim
Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2025
The building’s owner filed a counterclaim against Fannie Mae, accusing it of breach of contract, and breach of good faith and fair dealing.
—Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 19 Mar. 2025
Fletcher last year filed a counterclaim against Figueroa, accusing her of defamation, and the two claims have since been consolidated into a single proceeding.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Feb. 2025
In addition to the counterclaim, Robinson’s legal team filed a motion to strike the accusers’ initial lawsuit, finding issue with their decision to remain anonymous.
—Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for counterclaim
Recent Examples of Synonyms for counterclaim
Noun
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The Van Tine lawsuit, filed earlier last month, asserts some of the same allegations as the Ornelas complaint.—
Kelly Davis,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 July 2025
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Ironically, the complaint in question was never even sustained, meaning the civilian investigators ultimately found no misconduct by officers.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
4 July 2025
Noun
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The lawsuit is asking the state to not require South Miami law enforcement to enter a 287(g) while also not automatically declaring a sanctuary city.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
10 July 2025
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There are also still other lawsuits pending over the birthright citizenship order, in which plaintiffs are similarly trying to get class-action status in order to get around the Supreme Court’s ruling, so more court rulings against the policy may soon follow.—
Alison Durkee,
Forbes.com,
10 July 2025
Noun
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In spite of his advocacy, Keefe never lost sight that the goal of litigation was justice, according to U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who faced Keefe very early in his career, first as a trial lawyer and later as U.S. Attorney.—
Edmund H. Mahony,
Hartford Courant,
11 July 2025
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The process takes years, costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and usually entails additional litigation.—
Scott Peters,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 July 2025
Noun
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Baldoni has denied the claims, and filed a countersuit against Lively alleging defamation.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
2 July 2025
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Combs has also launched his own defamation countersuit in a separate case involving an accuser who linked him to the murder of Tupac Shakur.—
Amanda Castro
Joshua Rhett Miller
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Counterclaim.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterclaim. Accessed 20 Jul. 2025.
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