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
These say that Honorable Justice Cavanagh has validated service of a notice of motion which sought to bring about the counterclaim.
—
Adam Crafton, The Athletic, 19 Feb. 2025
At this time, the Defendants have not filed a counterclaim.
—Legal Entertainment, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for counterclaim
Adam Crafton, The Athletic, 19 Feb. 2025
At this time, the Defendants have not filed a counterclaim.
—Legal Entertainment, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for counterclaim
Recent Examples of Synonyms for counterclaim
Noun
-
By July, the department had dismissed thousands of these complaints, raising concerns about whether each case was being dutifully considered.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
15 July 2025
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Building inspector Major construction work continues at the U.S. Federal Reserve building as U.S. President Donald Trump voices complaints about Fed Chair Jerome Powell, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 14, 2025.—
Josephine Rozzelle,
CNBC,
15 July 2025
Noun
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In May 2025, the City of Chicago and Smollett reached an agreement, settling the $130,000 lawsuit the city filed for expenses spent on the police investigation.—
DeMicia Inman,
VIBE.com,
22 July 2025
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Now, representatives for Twigs have filed to end the lawsuit against her ex-boyfriend; the claims will be dismissed with prejudice, which means that Twigs cannot refile the claims in the future.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
22 July 2025
Noun
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But the toolbox for Democrats is relatively sparse, aside from litigation or legislative protests.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
24 July 2025
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John Lynch has been covering criminal cases and civil litigation at the Pulaski County Courthouse for 20 years.—
John Lynch,
Arkansas Online,
23 July 2025
Noun
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Baldoni's $400M extortion lawsuit against Lively, the Times dismissed Liman previously dismissed Justin Baldoni's $400 million countersuit against Lively, Reynolds and the Times on June 9.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
20 June 2025
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In February of this year, Baldoni launched a website featuring the full text of his countersuit against Lively.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
19 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Counterclaim.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterclaim. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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