Offsets, Equity, Damages

“Off-setting” judgements is well established in Missouri. It generally arises when there are competing claims made by different parties against each other in a lawsuit. For example, if party A wins on a $50k claim against party B, and party B wins on a counterclaim of $60k against party A, a court may enter an off-setting judgment of $10k in favor of party B. Mills v. First National Bank of Mexico, 697 S.W.2d 264, 266 (Mo. Ct. App. 1985). In suits in which only one claim is made, then, off-setting judgments are not usually in play. For this reason, a defendant will typically file a counterclaim to, among other things, attempt to obtain an off-setting judgment which mitigates or exceeds any of the defendant’s liability.
Contact with questions about Missouri litigation and off-setting judgments.

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