Legal Definitions - mutual demands

Mutual demands refers to a situation where two separate parties each make a claim or request against the other, often in opposition or response to the other's assertion. These demands exist concurrently, meaning both parties believe they are owed something or have a right that the other party should fulfill.

Here are some examples illustrating mutual demands:

• Business ContractDispute: A software development company demands the final payment from a client for completing a custom application. Simultaneously, the client demands a significant reduction in the payment, citing numerous critical bugs and alleged features missing from the final product that violate the terms of their contract.

  This illustrates mutual demands because the software company is asserting its right to full payment, while the client is asserting a counter-right to withhold part of that payment due to perceived breaches of contract.

• Rental Property Dispute: A landlord sends a tenant a bill for damages to the apartment beyond normal wear and tear, demanding payment. In response, the tenant sends a letter demanding the full return of their security deposit, arguing that the alleged damages were pre-existing or minor, and further demands reimbursement for a broken appliance they had to repair themselves after the landlord failed to address it.

  Here, both the landlord and the tenant are making distinct financial claims against each other regarding the property, demonstrating a scenario of mutual demands.

• Automobile Accident Negotiation: Following a minor car accident, Driver A demands that Driver B pay for the damage to their vehicle, claiming Driver B was at fault. Driver B, however, demands that Driver A's insurance cover the minor scratch on their own bumper, asserting that Driver A actually caused the collision by changing lanes improperly.

  This example shows mutual demands as both drivers are making specific, opposing claims of fault and financial responsibility against the other for the same incident.