Legal Definitions - reconventional demand

A reconventional demand is a legal claim made by a defendant against the plaintiff within the same lawsuit that the plaintiff originally initiated. Essentially, it's the defendant's way of suing the plaintiff back, often asserting their own rights or seeking their own relief related to the subject matter of the plaintiff's initial claim.

It allows all related disputes between the same parties to be resolved in a single court proceeding, promoting efficiency and preventing multiple lawsuits over connected issues. This concept is particularly common in civil law jurisdictions.

• Example 1: Construction Contract Dispute

  Imagine a homeowner (Plaintiff) sues a construction company (Defendant) for allegedly failing to complete a home renovation project on time and according to specifications. The construction company, in response, files a reconventional demand against the homeowner. In their demand, the company claims that the delays and issues were actually caused by the homeowner's repeated changes to the plans and failure to make timely payments, and therefore, the homeowner owes the company additional money for the extra work and expenses incurred.

  This illustrates a reconventional demand because the construction company, as the defendant, is making its own claim for damages directly against the homeowner, the original plaintiff, within the same lawsuit concerning the renovation project.

• Example 2: Business Partnership Dissolution

  Consider a situation where one business partner (Plaintiff) sues another partner (Defendant) to dissolve their partnership and recover funds they believe are owed to them. The defendant partner then files a reconventional demand, alleging that it was actually the plaintiff partner who mismanaged funds and breached their fiduciary duties, causing financial harm to the partnership, and therefore, the plaintiff should be held liable for those losses.

  Here, the defendant partner is not just defending against the initial claim but is actively pursuing their own claim for damages against the plaintiff partner, seeking to hold the plaintiff responsible for separate but related financial misconduct within the context of the partnership dispute.

• Example 3: Property Line Dispute

  Suppose a landowner (Plaintiff) sues their neighbor (Defendant), claiming the neighbor's newly built shed encroaches onto their property. The neighbor (Defendant) responds by filing a reconventional demand, asserting that after a new survey, it was discovered that the plaintiff's fence actually encroaches onto their property, and requests that the plaintiff be ordered to move their fence.

  This is a reconventional demand because the neighbor, as the defendant, is not merely denying the encroachment but is making a counter-claim against the original plaintiff, seeking a remedy related to a different but connected encroachment on the property line.