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countersuit

countersuit

5 7.4
A lawsuit filed by someone who was first sued
  • noun
  • /ˈkaʊntərˌsuːt/
translation icon : contrademanda
  • Builders of Hope immediately filed a countersuit accusing Tim Clark Construction of improperly placing houses on lots in violation of city code.
  • file a countersuit
  • lawsuits and countersuits
  • suits and countersuits

And he filed A countersuit claiming that her referring to him as a racist was defamation.

Examples

  • Haines filed the countersuit after Providian National Bank, a San Francisco lending institution, sued her to collect on her unpaid debts.

    Academic text (2000)
  • I'm going to run down to legal and get the ball rolling on the countersuit.

  • What do you think would have happened if I had presented my countersuit to the general district court?

    Blog text (8)
  • We could launch a countersuit.

  • If I decided to identify myself, would I lose all the money from the countersuit?

  • The case was removed; I filed my countersuit.

    Blog text (8)
  • But some of the sharpest points came in Ms. Burch's countersuit.

    Blog text (31)
  • Vidal instituted a countersuit against Buckley.

  • When Mies initiated a lawsuit to recover fees that Dr. Farnsworth refused to pay for work completed, Farnsworth filed and lost a countersuit disputing his claim.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The musician filed a countersuit against the record label after they sued him for breach of contract.

Synonyms

lawsuit
vscountersuit
719 4.8

A person or company brings a claim to court to get a legal decision

is specifically filed as a reactive court action in reply to another
suit
vscountersuit
  • Formal
425 5.6

A case one person brings against another in court to get a decision

is used only for an action that answers an earlier legal action
counterclaim
vscountersuit
  • Jargon
4 6.4

A claim made in reply to another claim, often by a person who has been sued

is a separate court case filed specifically as a reply to another case

How Litigious

countersuit
5 7.4
counterclaim
  • Jargon
4 6.4
settlement
  • Formal
384 3.3

Surface Forms

countersuit singular
countersuits plural

Morphology

countersuit = suit (transparent) = counter + suit

The productive prefix 'counter-' meaning 'in opposition' attaches to 'suit' producing a clearly opposite/responding legal action.

Etymology

Countersuit comes from two parts: counter meaning 'against' and suit meaning 'a legal case'. So a countersuit is a case you file against someone who sued you, a legal way to 'fight back'.