Also known as: claim and defense · claims & defenses · affirmative defenses
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A party's assertions of right or entitlement in litigation or a transaction together with the opposing party's responses that seek to avoid or defeat those assertions.
Cypress Technologies and Coastal Shipping schedule their required conference after Cypress sues for breach of a supply contract. Cypress's counsel identifies its contract and unjust-enrichment claims while Coastal Shipping lists its statute-of-limitations and failure-to-mitigate defenses. The parties then discuss initial disclosures and a proposed discovery plan that focuses on those specific assertions.
Craig Caldwell faces federal charges and negotiates a guilty plea with prosecutors. The government withholds impeachment material and evidence that could support an affirmative defense. Caldwell later seeks to withdraw the plea on due-process grounds but the court upholds the agreement because the withheld information was not required to be disclosed before entry of the plea.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
No. Federal-question jurisdiction exists only when the plaintiff's well-pleaded complaint shows that the claim arises under federal law. A federal defense or counterclaim does not supply the required federal element.
Supporting sources
The defendant must prove the facts establishing any claimed privilege. The plaintiff need not disprove the existence of a privilege to make out a prima facie case.
Supporting sources
No. The Constitution does not require disclosure of impeachment information or information related only to affirmative defenses before a plea agreement. Failure to provide such evidence does not render the plea involuntary.
Supporting sources