Filing a Knee-Jerk Counterclaim Can Make a Bad Problem Worse
In today’s litigious world, it is all too common for a disgruntled former business partner to file a lawsuit based on legally weak, if not outright frivolous, claims of wrongdoing. One common reaction is to fight fire with fire by filing counterclaims for abuse of process and/or other similar causes of action. While there is a time and place for pursuing such counterclaims, they should be carefully vetted and not instituted based on emotion and/or simply to create leverage. Indeed, as the defendant in Barnum v. Tubifi, Inc. learned just last month, filing a retaliatory counterclaim can result not just in a little wasted time and money, but could lead to court imposed sanctions.… Keep reading