Counterclaim Definition

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GLOSSARY

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What does Counterclaim mean?

A claim brought by a defendant in response to the claimant's claim, which is included in the same proceedings as the claimant's claim.

Counterclaims are governed by the provisions of CPR Rule 20.

View the related checklists about Counterclaim

Defendant receiving a claimant's Part 36 offer—checklist

Defendant receiving a claimant's Part 36 offer—checklist This checklist on receiving a Part 36 offer identifies the key factors that a defendant should consider on receipt of a claimant’s Part 36 offer. Consideration Guidance Further information Relevant period The defendant should calculate the date when the relevant period expires for accepting the claimant’s Part 36 offer, which must be no less than 21 days from when the Part 36 offer was served (CPR 36.5(1)(c)).It is important to note this date because there may be costs consequences for late acceptance of the claimant’s Part 36 offer. There will also be costs consequences if the claimant’s Part 36 offer is not accepted and the claimant obtains a judgment that is at least as advantageous as their own Part 36 offer (CPR 36.17(1)(b)). For further information, see Practice Notes: Part 36 offers—how to make a valid Part 36 offer—The relevant period (minimum 21 days) and Part 36 offers—costs consequences of rejection or non-acceptance—Costs consequences—defendant not accepting a claimant's Part 36 offer. Validity...

Considerations when dealing with litigants in person—checklist

Considerations when dealing with litigants in person—checklist Issue Comment Link to Lexis+® UK guidance/external links To what extent is a represented party required to assist a litigant in person? A legal representative’s paramount duty is to the court and to the administration of justice. Subject to that, the legal representative’s duty is to the client. Practice Note: Litigants in person—general considerations, resources and regulators' guidanceThe Law Society—Litigants in person: guidelines for lawyers, paras 7–9Legal Services Act 2007, s 1(3) A legal representative must not abuse their position by taking unfair advantage of a litigant in person but there is no obligation to help a litigant in person run their case or to take any action on a litigant in person’s behalf. Practice Note: Litigants in person—general considerations, resources and regulators' guidanceSRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs, para 1.2SRA Code of Conduct for Firms, para 1.2The Law Society—Litigants in person: guidelines for lawyers, para 18 When exercising its powers of case management, the court must consider whether...

UK design infringement action—flowchart

UK design infringement action—flowchart This Flowchart provides an overview of a UK design infringement action. The specific right relied on could be one of the following design rights which coexist in the UK: • UK registered designs (including re-registered designs) • UK unregistered designs (sometimes referred to as ‘design right’) • supplementary unregistered designs For more information about these rights, see Practice Note: UK registered and unregistered designs. Stage 1—preparing to bring a claim and pre-action matters Claim preparation and pre-action matters—Practice Notes • Infringement of UK registered and unregistered designs • Design disputes—a practical guide • How to run an IP dispute • Copyright in designs • Types of dispute resolution • IP and mediation • IP and arbitration • UK Intellectual Property Office—mediation scheme • Disclosure scheme—when and where it applies Claim preparation and pre-action matters—Precedent • Timetable for disclosure—Business and Property Courts disclosure pilot Claim preparation and pre-action matters—Forms • Application for injunction • Application notice • Notice of hearing of application Stage 2—Letter before action...

Passing off—flowchart

Passing off—flowchart Passing off action Passing off is a common law action that is used to protect unregistered trade mark rights in the UK. The stages of the Flowchart cover establishing a claim for passing off covering: • the three essential elements of goodwill, misrepresentation, and damage • sending a letter of claim, issuing proceedings and applying for an injunction • commencing proceedings in the general Intellectual Property List or the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court sub-list in the Business and Property Court, in the Chancery Division at the High Court • case management including allocation, the case management conference and directions • disclosure and evidence including inspection, additional disclosure and survey evidence • trial preparation and post-trial activities such as election between damages or an account of profits • applications to appeal Stage 1—preparing to bring a claim and pre-action matters Claim preparation and pre-action matters—Practice Notes • Passing off—goodwill, misrepresentation and damage • Trade mark and passing off disputes—a practical guide • How to run an IP dispute...

Making an additional claim under CPR 20—counterclaim

This Practice Note provides guidance on the interpretation and application of the relevant provisions of the CPR. Depending on the court in which your matter is proceeding, you may also need to be mindful of additional provisions—see: Court specific guidance.CPR 20 and CPR PD 20 set out the process whereby a party can bring an ‘additional claim’, which includes a counterclaim (CPR 20.2). This Practice Note considers when a counterclaim can be made by a defendant against the claimant or a new party and how this is achieved. It also considers how to respond to a counterclaim (the defence to counterclaim and any reply to defence to counterclaim) and the impact of a counterclaim on case management.This Practice Note should be read in conjunction with Practice Note: Counterclaims and additional claims under CPR 20—initial considerations and permission, which gives guidance on the factors to consider before making an additional claim and which sets out:•how the CPR defines an additional claim—see: What is an ‘additional claim’ and when might a party...

Adjudication—resisting enforcement using set-off or counterclaim

Produced in association with 4 Pump CourtThe courts have repeatedly held (see eg Ferson Contractors v Levolux) that the policy behind the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (HGCRA 1996) is that adjudication decisions should be enforced—to allow parties to resist enforcement by raising set-off arguments would frustrate that purpose. As such, a party who is ordered to pay money in an adjudicator’s decision must pay in full without deduction or set-off. Except in very limited circumstances, set out below, a separate contractual entitlement (such as to liquidated and ascertained damages (LADs)) cannot be used to resist enforcement of an adjudication decision.Parties seeking to set-off against an adjudicator's decision therefore face an uphill struggle. The court in Thameside Construction v Stevens said that there were broadly two exceptions to the usual rule: •there was a contractual right to set-off, or•there was a declaratory type decision by the adjudicator (for instance in relation to an entitlement in principle to LADs) that left room within the decision itself for a set-off...

Discover our 672 Practice Notes on Counterclaim

Short-form facility agreement (term loan): single company borrower—bilateral—unsecured

Short-form facility agreement (term loan): single company borrower—bilateral—unsecured Facility agreement This Agreement is made on [date] Parties 1 [insert name of Borrower], a company incorporated in England and Wales with registered number [insert company number] whose registered office is at [insert address] (the Borrower); and 2 [insert name of Lender], of [insert address] (the Lender). It is agreed as follows: 1 Definitions and interpretation 1.1 In this Agreement, unless otherwise provided: Business Day • means a day, other than a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, on which banks are open for business in London; Commitment • means £[•] ([•] Sterling) minus any amount reduced or cancelled in accordance with this Agreement; Commitment Period • means the period commencing on the date of this Agreement to and including [•]; Default • means an event that with the giving of notice, lapse of time or other applicable condition would be an Event of Default under Clause 16; Drawdown • means [the OR a] utilisation of the...

Guarantee and indemnity—seller obligations—private M&A—asset purchase

Guarantee and indemnity—seller obligations—private M&A—asset purchase This Deed is made on [insert day and month] 20[insert year] Parties 1 [insert name of guarantor entity] [of OR a company incorporated in [England and Wales] under number [insert registered number] whose registered office is at] [insert address] (the Guarantor); and 2 [insert name of the buyer] [of OR a company incorporated in [England and Wales] under number [insert registered number] whose registered office is at] [insert address] (the Buyer). BACKGROUND: (A) The Buyer has agreed to purchase the Business as a going concern pursuant to the terms of the APA. (B) The Guarantor has agreed to guarantee the performance by the Seller of its obligations and liabilities under the APA and provide the Buyer with an indemnity in respect of such obligations of the Seller. The parties agree: 1 Definitions and interpretation 1.1 In this Deed, unless otherwise provided: APA • means the asset purchase agreement between the Buyer and the Seller made on or...

Dive into our 326 Precedents related to Counterclaim

Can a Part 36 Offer from a defendant be an offer in full and final settlement of the claim of £0 and for each party to bear their own costs? Would this be a valid Part 36 Offer?

Can a Part 36 Offer from a defendant be an offer in full and final settlement of the claim of £0 and for each party to bear their own costs? Would this be a valid Part 36 Offer? Part 36 comprises a self-contained procedural code about offers to settle made pursuant to its procedure (CPR 36.1). The courts have repeatedly held that, as a result, it is to the rules set out in that Part that regard must be had, and it is doubted that contractual provisions (such as, for example, concepts of mistake) will apply: Gibbon v Manchester City Council. The parties by electing to use the Part 36 procedure opt into that self-contained code. They are able to make offers outside of Part 36, to which ordinary contractual provisions will apply. The underlying policy, per Gibbon, is certainty. The form and content of Part 36 offers is governed by CPR 36.5. A Part 36 offer must be in writing, must make clear that it...

Where an employee has insufficient length of service to claim unfair dismissal, could they nevertheless bring a claim in the employment tribunal (ET) on the basis that the employer breached their contract of employment such that it terminated their employment? What is the ET’s jurisdiction to hear a breach of contract claim in those circumstances?

Where an employee has insufficient length of service to claim unfair dismissal, could they nevertheless bring a claim in the employment tribunal (ET) on the basis that the employer breached their contract of employment such that it terminated their employment? What is the ET’s jurisdiction to hear a breach of contract claim in those circumstances? Where an employee has insufficient length of service to bring an unfair dismissal claim under the statutory regime set out in Part X of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) (ERA 1996, s 94), if the circumstances of the termination are not such that the statutory qualifying period for bringing a statutory claim is reduced or dispensed with entirely, any termination of their employment will need to be considered in terms of common law principles. For further information, see Practice Note: Qualifying period for unfair dismissal. Under common law, if an employer dismisses an employee in breach of contract, eg dismissal without notice due under the contract, then such a dismissal would be wrongful. For...

See the 229 Q&As about Counterclaim

Property weekly highlights—14 November 2024

This week's edition of Property weekly highlights includes: a Law Commission consultation on the right to renew business tenancies under Part 2 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, regulations bringing into force local authority rental auctions of vacant high street premises and cases on adverse possession, constructive trusts in family disputes and bankruptcy proceedings and a test case on the provision of electrical reports under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016.

Property Disputes weekly highlights—14 November 2024

This week's edition of Property Disputes weekly highlights includes: Court of Appeal cases on rent repayment orders and adverse possession, High Court cases regarding beneficial ownership, the effect of failing to provide electrical condition reports in Wales, and the intention to return to a residential property, and two Upper Tribunal decisions on FTT procedure. It also includes the Law Commission’s announcement on its review of the right to renew business tenancies, RICS’ appointment of a new Chair of its Dispute Resolution Appointments Board and the UK Supreme Court’s updated building and registry times.

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