counterclaims

plural of counterclaim
as in lawsuits
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 counterclaims In Georgia, Teddy’s Market has answered with counterclaims arguing Buc-ee's is squeezing smaller rivals with claims that don't hold. Roger Dooley, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026 Those allegations have not been proven in court, and Buc-ee's has not yet responded to the counterclaims. Christopher Harris, CBS News, 5 Aug. 2026 Williams, who had filed counterclaims against Baumgarten for allegedly making false and defamatory statements about her and tarnishing her reputation, also voluntarily dismissed her suit at the same time. Catherine Muccigrosso july 24, Charlotte Observer, 24 July 2026 The New York Times has filed counterclaims against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is pursuing a lawsuit against the news organization for allegedly discriminating against a white male employee by passing him over for a promotion. Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 10 July 2026 Judge Biggs largely agreed with Williamson that Ford should have known her counterclaims were without merit, reasoning that outlook became clear after the court held the five-year contract was void as a matter of law. Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 9 July 2026 The three-week trial did not address antitrust claims alleged by Musk and harassment counterclaims filed by Altman that are still pending. Bloomberg, Mercury News, 7 July 2026 In 2022, a jury awarded Depp more than $10 million in damages, while Heard won one of her counterclaims and was awarded $2 million. Charlie Carballo, USA Today, 30 June 2026 In April 2026, the defendants filed counterclaims of their own against the investors. Elizabeth Rosner, PEOPLE, 17 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for counterclaims
Noun
  • That case was a bellwether, or test case, picked from thousands of similar civil tort lawsuits to give both plaintiffs and the defendants an idea of how their arguments fare in court.
    ABC News, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026
  • At several key moments, the Tribune review found, government and law enforcement failed to stop them from operating in the industry — despite discoveries along the way of an altered state credential, and allegations in a barrage of lawsuits.
    Gregory Royal Pratt, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • The city says there was a large increase in complaints in May, likely due to the end of the school year.
    Ashley Portillo, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
  • By doing it this way, the kids had to put some thought into which items meant the most to them, and there were no complaints afterward.
    R. Eric Thomas, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Counterclaims.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterclaims. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

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