Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts

A counterclaim is not a form, it is a type of pleading. What the court means is that since your husband filed for divorce, he is the plaintiff and you are the defendant in the divorce action. A divorce action or any action does not go forward if the plaintiff does not appear. However, if you had filed a counterclaim for divorce when you answered (responded) to his complaint for divorce, then you would have been basically saying that you are filing for divorce too (perhaps looking for different results in terms of custody or whatever) but then you would also be a plaintiff and the divorce could have gone forward.