Can I Counter-Sue the Plaintiff in a Civil Lawsuit?

The Importance of Counterclaims in Defending a Civil Lawsuit

There are always at least two sides to the story, and very often when a plaintiff files a lawsuit, the person or business being sued also has a dispute or potential claim against the plaintiff. If your claim is related to the one in the lawsuit (for example, if you are being sued for breaching a contract you may also believe the plaintiff breached the same contract), then you must bring it is a counterclaim in the same action.

This means that when your attorney files an answer to the plaintiff's complaint he or she will also lay out your counterclaim in the same document, which the plaintiff will have to answer in the time allowed under the rules. If your complaint is not related to the events raised in the original complaint, you may still want to assert the counterclaim in the same action, either for a strategic purpose or simply to put all of the issues on the table in the same proceeding. Our initial assessment of your defenses to the claim always includes an assessment of claims you may have against the plaintiff so that you can make an informed decision about whether to include them in the lawsuit.

Learn more here about what to expect as a defendant in a civil lawsuit.

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Emily Smith-Lee is the owner and founder of slnlaw. She is a 1996 graduate of Boston College Law School. She was previously a partner at the Boston office of a large international firm, where she worked for thirteen years, with a focus on complex business litigation. In 2009, she started the firm that became slnlaw. She has been recognized as Massachusetts Superlawyer each year since 2013, and in 2018 earned recognition as one of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly's Lawyers of the Year for a precedent-setting victory at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. She has written a book on employment law: Rules of the Road, What You Need to Know About Employment Laws in Massachusetts, and helped thousands of clients with business and employment disputes. Emily has handled cases at every level of the state system, in the federal trial court, and before the First Circuit Court of Appeals.

Elijah Bresley: Eli is a 2014 graduate of Seton Hall Law school, and has worked with slnlaw since 2020. He previously worked for a boutique employment law firm outside of Boston, and then for the Labor and Employment department of a large Boston firm. He also spent a year clerking for the judges of the Superior Court in Hartford, Connecticut. Eli has successfully defended numerous employers in the MCAD, and litigated other business and employment disputes throughout the state court system and in the federal trial court.

Sharleen Tinnin: Sharleen is a 2010 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, and has been with slnlaw since 2023. Prior to joining slnlaw, she worked with King, Tilden, McEttrick & Brink, P.C. on complex civil litigation matters. She previously worked for the United States Department of Justice, and received an "Excellence in Justice" award in 2017. Sharleen has litigated both plaintiff and defendant cases in the state court system, MCAD, and the federal trial court.