A crossclaim is brought by one defendant against another, or one plaintiff against another, and must arise from the transaction or occurrence at issue or relate to property involved in the action.
Crossclaims are permissive rather than compulsory.
Alternative Names:
Cross-Claim, Claim Against Co-Party
Why it Matters?
Contribution and indemnity claims among codefendants are the common crossclaim, and asserting them early clarifies the alignment among defendants that otherwise remains ambiguous through discovery. The tradeoff is that a crossclaim converts a codefendant into an adversary, which forecloses the joint defense coordination that might have been more valuable. Timing the assertion after evaluating that alignment is the practical approach.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Are crossclaims compulsory?
What is the tradeoff in asserting one?
