Credit and Offset Affirmative Defense

“Credits and offsets are affirmative defenses” to a lawsuit asking for damages. Echols v. City of Riverside, 332 S.W.3d 207, 210 (Mo. Ct. App. 2010). In other words, it is a request by a defendant to minimize the amount of damages being requested by a plaintiff. By way of example, if a plaintiff stands to recover “any amounts already received by the plaintiff as compensation for that wrong,” then an offset or credit may be appropriate. McDonald v. Ins. Co. of Pa., 460 S.W.3d 58, 65-66 (Mo. Ct. App. 2015).

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