Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Counterclaim definition

What does Counterclaim mean? In civil litigation, a counterclaim is the defendant’s own claim against the claimant, brought within the same proceedings so the court can determine both sides’ claims together. It commonly seeks damages, declarations, set‑off (including equitable set‑off) or other relief, and may reduce or exceed the value of the claimant’s claim. Across the UK and Ireland the concept is broadly consistent, though procedure is rule‑based rather than statutory. In England & Wales and Northern Ireland, court rules treat a counterclaim as an “additional claim” (for example, under CPR Part 20). A defendant may usually counterclaim against the claimant without...

Defence and Counterclaim Precedent (Civil), with optional Limitation, Interest and set-off provisions (England and Wales)

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Precedents

Claim No. [ insert claim number ]

[ IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE [ BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS [ OF ENGLAND AND WALES OR IN [ insert location ] ] ] [ Specify division ] [ Specify specialist court ] [ Insert location ] DISTRICT REGISTRY OR THE COUNTY COURT AT [ insert location ] [ BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS LIST ] ]

BETWEEN [ insert name ] Claimant and [ insert name ] Defendant

[ DRAFT ] DEFENCE AND Counterclaim

DEFENCE

Unless stated otherwise, any paragraph references in this Defence are to the [ Amended ] Particulars of claim dated [ insert date ]. The Defendant adopts the abbreviations appearing in the [ Amended ] Particulars of Claim.
[ Limitation The Claimant’s claim relies on [ insert cause of action ]. On the Claimant’s own case, that cause of action was concluded on [ insert date ] when [ insert facts that constitute the complete cause of action ]. ]...

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Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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