What is a Crossclaim? [court legal terminology]

A crossclaim arises between co-parties, most frequently arising when a defendant makes a claim against another named defendant in an action to which both have been named defendants by the plaintiff (a crossclaim might also be brought by one plaintiff against another plaintiff, although this tends to be quite rare). As such, in a court proceeding, a defendant in the originating pleading, be it a complaint or a statement of claim, can make a claim against another defendant, with that claim against that other defendant being identified as a crossclaim. Typically, a crossclaim is about the same issue as the original claim brought by the plaintiff.
By way of example, let’s say an electronics manufacturer has its computer components transported across the country through a third-party logistic company to the purchaser. Upon receipt of the cargo of computer components, the purchaser determines that it has been damaged, such that the purchaser refuses to pay for the damaged goods. The manufacturer proceeds to sue both the logistics company for causing the purported damages incurred in transit and the purchaser for non-payment. The purchaser in turn files its answer / statement of defense to the manufacturer’s lawsuit, but also crossclaims against the third-party logistic company for the damages it caused to the computer components.
A crossclaim is based on the legal principle of “joint and several liability,” which allows a plaintiff to pursue any one defendant for the full amount of the plaintiff’s damages, irrespective of the degree of fault of each defendant. As such, a defendant’s crossclaim will typically assert a claim for “contribution and indemnity” against another defendant in the event that damages are awarded against the cross-claiming defendant in the main action.
The advantage of a crossclaim is that if it has merit it has the potential to offset the damages that a defendant owes the plaintiff by realizing from the contribution and indemnity of that other defendant. From the perspective of the judicial system, it avoids multiple lawsuits, especially where the underlying facts and the general dispute has significant overlap. This has the added benefit of saving the involved parties’ time and money by focusing their interests on a single court proceeding.
Any defendant in the originating claim can make a crossclaim against the other defendant(s). That means there might be more than one crossclaim.
Meanwhile, if a defendant were to bring a claim against the plaintiff, this would be a counter-claim. And if a claim is brought against a party that is not yet a party to the action, such a claim would be a third-party claim.
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