Counterclaim
Counterclaim is a claim made by the defendant in a civil lawsuit against the plaintiff. In essence, a counter lawsuit within a lawsuit.
Jury demand
Fed. R. Civ. P. 38(b) states that "any party may demand a trial by jury of any issue triable of right by a jury" if the demand is made "not later than 10 days after the service of the last pleading directed to such issue." The failure to comply with this requirement constitutes a waiver of trial by jury. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 38(d). (Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 7(a), counterclaims and answers to counterclaims are pleadings.)
If a counterclaim is compulsory, then a valid request for a jury trial on the counterclaim entitles the defendant to a jury trial not only on the counterclaim, but also on the original claim. See Phx. Four Grantor Tr. # 1 v. 642 N. Broad St. Assocs., Civ. No. 00-597, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16524, at *3-5 (E.D. Pa. Nov. 14, 2000).
- The test for determining whether a request for a jury on a counterclaim entitles a party to a jury trial on the complaint is whether the counterclaim is compulsory, that is, whether it arises out of the subject matter of the plaintiff's legal claim. Since a compulsory counterclaim, by definition, relates to the issues raised in the complaint, the demand brings those issues before the jury.
8 James Wm. Moore et al., Moore's Federal Practice P 38.50[9][c], at 38-241 (3d ed. 1997) (citing Park Club, Inc. v. Resolution Trust Corp., 967 F.2d 1053, 1057 (5th Cir. 1992)). The Third Circuit has held that a counterclaim is compulsory if the counterclaim bears a "logical relationship" to the plaintiff's claim, involves many of the same factual issues as the plaintiff's claim, is an offshoot of the same basic controversy, or would be barred under the doctrine of res judicata if the defendant tried to bring the counterclaim as a subsequent suit. See Beard v. Braunstein, 914 F.2d 434, 442 n.13 (3d Cir. 1990) (quoting Great Lakes Rubber Corp. v. Herbert Cooper Co., 286 F.2d 631, 634 (3d Cir. 1961)); Savarese v. Agriss, 883 F.2d 1194, 1208 (3d Cir. 1989) (quoting Great Lakes Rubber Corp., 286 F.2d at 634); Xerox Corp. v. SCM Corp., 576 F.2d 1057, 1059 (3d Cir. 1978) (quoting Great Lakes Rubber Corp., 286 F.2d at 634).
Fed. R. Civ. P. 13(a) provides that compulsory counterclaims are claims which "at the time of serving the pleading the pleader has against any opposing party, if it arises out of the transaction or occurrence that is the subject matter of the opposing party's claim and does not require for its adjudication the presence of third parties of whom the court cannot acquire jurisdiction."
Where a defendant's counterclaims arise from the same basic controversy and involve many of the same factual issues as plaintiff's claims, then the counterclaims are compulsory, and thus defendants' timely request for a jury trial on their counterclaims entitles them to a jury trial on the claims raised by the complaint.
