Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: How do I counter sue?

Assuming the case is in state court, you would file and serve two documents in the same case: 1) the answer and 2) a cross-complaint.

Re: How do I counter sue?

Theoretically, as attorney Cohen says, you would file an answer and a cross-complaint. Going to court acting as your own attorney might "give you a better understanding of the process," but the most likely outcome is you will be ordered to pay more money than if you had done nothing. Read the contract. Does it have an attorney fees clause? If yes, and you feel you have a good case, you should be calling attorneys, because if you win your attorney fees will be reimbursed. Keep calling attorneys.

Re: How do I counter sue?

First, a "civil unlimited" complaint identifies the case as one in which the plaintiff is seeking more than $25,000 in damages. You should weigh the cost of losing and having a $25,000-plus damages award entered against you. Remember that a judgment can be collected by seizure of your property and bank accounts, garnishment of wages or revenues from clients, and otherwise.

Next, keep in mind that an answer (or other responsive pleading) must be filed and served, usually within 30 days of service on you, in order to prevent entry of your default and a judgment by default....this doesn't always happen, and relief from default can be obtained in many cases, but don't run the risk.

Third, if you have a claim of your own against the plaintiff, or need to bring in a third party or parties, what you need to do is file and serve what is nowadays known as a cross-complaint. In California, we no longer counter-sue nor counterclaim. If the cross-complaint is filed and served at the same time, or before, the answer is filed and served, it is not necessary to obtain the court's permission to cross-complain, but if you wait until your answer is on file, you'd have to obtain "leave of court" (a judge's OK) to file your cross-complaint. A cross-complaint is not a new case. It carries the same case number as the initial complaint, and procedurally the court will handle everything together as though there were but a single case.

The answer and the cross-complaint are separate documents. The cross-complaint, when filed, must be accompanied by a filled-out "Summons on Cross-Complaint" if the cross-complaint names anyone as a cross-defendant who has not already "appeared" in the case.

An attorney can evaluate the facts here and advise you whether a cross-complaint is really necessary or useful. Perhaps you can raise breach of contract as a defense to the plaintiff's case for non-payment and accomplish the same thing. A cross-complaint is necessary if you are seeking what is called "affirmative relief," i.e., damages instead of or in addition to prevailing against the plaintiff's demands.

I can and do handle cases like this (contract related) all over California and would be pleased to discuss low-cost representation for your case if you contact me directly.