Legal Definitions - plea in avoidance

A plea in avoidance is a legal response made by a party in a lawsuit where they essentially say, "Yes, what you're claiming I did is true, but there's an additional reason or fact that means I shouldn't be held responsible." Instead of denying the initial accusation, the party introduces new information or arguments that, if proven, would defeat the opposing party's claim, even if the original facts are accepted as true. It's a way of admitting the basic facts of the accusation but then presenting a justification or excuse to avoid legal liability.

• Example 1: Contract Dispute

  Imagine a small construction company, "BuildRight," is sued by a homeowner, "Mr. Henderson," for failing to complete a home renovation project by the agreed-upon deadline, a clear breach of their contract.

  BuildRight responds by admitting they did not meet the deadline. However, they introduce evidence that Mr. Henderson repeatedly changed the project's scope, demanded expensive custom materials not in the original plan, and delayed approving necessary permits, all of which significantly impacted the timeline. BuildRight argues that Mr. Henderson's own actions made it impossible for them to fulfill their contractual obligation on time.

  This illustrates a plea in avoidance because BuildRight isn't denying the breach (the missed deadline). Instead, they are presenting new facts (Mr. Henderson's actions) that, if proven, would excuse their non-performance and prevent them from being held liable for the breach.

• Example 2: Personal Injury Claim

  Consider a situation where "Anna" sues her neighbor, "Ben," for property damage, claiming Ben's tree fell onto her garage during a storm, causing significant damage.

  Ben admits that his tree did fall and damage Anna's garage. However, he presents evidence that Anna had previously signed a written agreement acknowledging that the tree was old and unstable, and she had specifically refused Ben's offer to have it professionally removed at his expense, instead stating she would take responsibility for any issues. Ben argues that Anna's prior agreement and refusal to allow removal absolves him of liability.

  This is a plea in avoidance because Ben acknowledges the core accusation (his tree caused damage). His plea introduces the new fact of Anna's prior agreement and refusal, which, if accepted by the court, would legally justify his position and prevent him from being found liable for the damage.

• Example 3: Debt Collection

  Suppose a credit card company, "Capital Bank," sues "Carlos" to collect an unpaid debt from a credit card account that has been inactive for seven years.

  Carlos admits that he did incur the debt and has not paid it. However, he argues that the lawsuit was filed after the "statute of limitations" for collecting such debts in his state had expired. The statute of limitations is a law that sets a legal deadline for bringing a lawsuit after a certain event occurs.

  This demonstrates a plea in avoidance because Carlos is not denying the existence or non-payment of the debt. His plea introduces the new legal fact (the expired statute of limitations) which, if proven, would prevent the bank from legally collecting the debt, even though the debt itself is acknowledged.