Alberta Civil Claim Counterclaim: How to Sue Back When You Are the Defendant

When the Defendant Has a Claim Too

You have been served with a Civil Claim in the Alberta Court of Justice, and while you dispute what the claimant says, you also believe they owe you money from the same situation. A contractor suing you for unpaid work, for instance, when their shoddy installation forced you to hire someone else to redo the job. Or a business partner claiming you owe them for expenses when they mismanaged project funds.

Alberta's procedure lets you file a counterclaim alongside your Dispute Note. Instead of defending passively and then filing a separate action of your own, you put both disputes in front of the same Justice at the same hearing.

How a Counterclaim Works

A counterclaim is a claim filed by the defendant against the claimant as part of the Dispute Note. You state the facts and the amount you are claiming. The court clerk sends a filed copy to the parties already in the case.

The key difference from a standalone Civil Claim: your counterclaim is attached to the existing court file. Both the original claim and your counterclaim are heard together at trial, and the Justice can set off one against the other. If the claimant proves they are owed $8,000 and you prove they owe you $5,000, the net judgment is $3,000 in the claimant's favour.

Filing Requirements

To file a counterclaim, you need:

1. Dispute Note with Counterclaim (Form CTS1924) — your response to the original claim and your claim against the plaintiff, filed within 20 days if served in Alberta or 30 days if served outside Alberta

The filing fee for a Dispute Note with Counterclaim is:

• $100 for counterclaims valued at $7,500 or less
• $150 for counterclaims valued over $7,500 and up to $100,000

File the Dispute Note with Counterclaim at an Alberta Court of Justice registry. The court recommends filing it where the original claim was filed.

Serving the Counterclaim

If your counterclaim is only against the existing claimant, the court clerk sends the filed Dispute Note with Counterclaim to the parties already in the case. You do not separately serve the claimant. If you add a new defendant by counterclaim, serve them a filed copy and a blank Dispute Note to Counterclaim (Form CTS11415) within 30 days after filing, then file an Affidavit of Service of Commencement Documents (Form CTS11420).

The existing claimant does not need to file a Dispute Note to Counterclaim unless they choose to dispute the counterclaim. A newly added defendant by counterclaim has 20 days after service in Alberta or 30 days after service outside Alberta to file a Dispute Note to Counterclaim (Form CTS11415).

Third-Party Claims

Sometimes the real liability sits with someone who is not yet part of the case. If you believe a third party is responsible for all or part of what the claimant is claiming against you, you can file a Third-Party Claim (Form CTS2776) bringing that person or business into the action.

Within 30 days after the Dispute Note is filed, serve the Third-Party Claim with a copy of the filed Civil Claim, any filed Dispute Note, and a blank Dispute Note to the Third-Party Claim (Form CTS2902) on the third-party defendant, the plaintiff, and the other defendants.

The filing fee for a Third-Party Claim is $50.

Strategic Considerations

Filing a counterclaim changes the dynamic of the case. The claimant started this action expecting to collect money from you — now they are also defending against your claim.

This can push settlement. At a pre-trial conference, the Justice sees both sides of the dispute and may encourage a compromise that reflects the net position. Many cases with counterclaims settle before trial because both sides realize the risk of losing their own claim.

However, a counterclaim only makes sense if you have a genuine claim arising from the same facts. Filing a frivolous counterclaim to pressure the other side wastes the court's time and can result in costs awarded against you.

The Full Alberta Civil Claim Process

Whether you are filing the original claim or responding with a counterclaim, the procedural steps are the same — service, Dispute Note, pre-trial conference, evidence preparation, and hearing. Our Alberta Civil Claim Guide covers every stage with deadline tracking and form-by-form instructions.

See more Alberta guides →