What is a Counterclaim

What is a Counterclaim?The opening paragraph, caption and title are the three elements of a counterclaim. I will describe them and use examples from real life to show you how to format your counterclaim. A counterclaim starts with the word 'counter' and the attorney or other party may refer to the original filing as a counterclaim. If this does not occur, you should take care to use your counterclaim term on the first paragraph, caption and title of your claims.On the opening paragraph of your counterclaim you should highlight the named parties who are claiming that you did not do what you claimed to do. The opening paragraph should state the specific claims you claim and the specifics of your claim against each defendant. The opening paragraph must be no more than a sentence, but it should be the first part of your brief. You should use the caption and title to describe the various claims you have. If the jury finds that the plaintiff did something that you claim was wrongful, the o pening paragraph should briefly explain the incident and why you think it was wrong.On the second paragraph of your counterclaim you should briefly state the facts that the plaintiff's claim is false. If you are being sued in a personal injury action then you should detail the specific injury that you claim was sustained. You should also indicate the various steps the defendants took to investigate the plaintiffs claim. When you are being sued in a medical malpractice case you should tell the jury about the specific misdeed that you allege.You should answer the question of 'why do you have a counterclaim' on the third paragraph of your counterclaim. Use the caption and title to tell the jury about the specific reason you have a counterclaim. Do not provide a legal explanation of the alleged injury, just a statement of the reason. In other words you should not describe a cause and effect relationship in your paragraphs.On the fourth paragraph of your counterclaim you should again sta te the facts that you claim were false. Describe the injuries and describe the defendants actions in a way that is descriptive and not a legal explanation. If the jury finds that the plaintiff did something that you claim was wrongful you should describe the injuries you claim.The fifth paragraph of your counterclaim is the first paragraph and the last paragraph of your counterclaim. This paragraph can be very brief if necessary or it can be somewhat longer. As I mentioned, do not provide a legal explanation of the allegation.Finally, the last paragraph of your counterclaim should contain a statement that identifies you and states the court where the case was filed. Again, do not explain a cause and effect relationship in this paragraph. In my practice, I have found that the response to the question of 'why do you have a counterclaim' has a tendency to change depending on the particular facts of a particular case. It is usually found that the plaintiff wants to have a description of his or her injury rather than an explanation of a cause and effect relationship.If you have not filed a counterclaim yet, you should wait until you have filed the counterclaim to get into detail about what happened. Also, if the case is closed and you are not being sued again in the same case, you should wait to file a counterclaim.