Pleadings and Motions
Pleadings
Compulsory counterclaims arise from the same transaction or occurrence and must be asserted or are lost. Permissive counterclaims may be brought but are not required.
Compulsory counterclaims need no independent jurisdictional basis.
Alternative Names:
Counter-Claim, Defendant's Claim
Why it Matters?
The compulsory classification is what makes failure to assert consequential, since a claim arising from the same transaction that is not pleaded is barred in later litigation. That analysis should occur at the answer stage rather than after the case concludes. Permissive counterclaims require an independent jurisdictional basis in federal court, which limits their availability where diversity or federal question grounds are absent.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What happens if a compulsory counterclaim is not asserted?
Do permissive counterclaims need independent jurisdiction?
