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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The family filed the lawsuit last August against Read and the Canton bars C.F. McCarthy’s and Waterfall Bar & Grille — where Read and O’Keefe drank together immediately preceding his death.—
Flint McColgan,
Boston Herald,
10 July 2025
Noun
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The worst performer on the index was Danish turbine-maker Vestas Wind, with a loss of about 8%, over changes to wind energy regulation in the U.S. Germany's Bayer was the third biggest loser due to the U.S. Supreme Court delaying a decision on a long-running litigation over its weedkiller.—
Jenni Reid,Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
30 June 2025
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The unit’s federal litigation team is at the forefront of immigration fights in federal court, sometimes taking matters to the Supreme Court.—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
29 June 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 13 Jul. 2025.
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