an admission by the defendant that he or she owes some money to the plaintiff, but that the plaintiff also owes the defendant money
an amount already paid by your client toward the potential judgment for money damages
a special type of counterclaim which the defendant files against the plaintiff
Where the defendant acknowledges the plaintiff's demand but sets up a demand of his or her own.
The right of a bank to use money in the debtor's account to reduce or pay the debt in full.
a claim to cancel part of a debt in recognition of a debt owed the claimant, as when a cooperative member who owes the cooperative (e.g., for supplies) seeks to reduce that debt by claiming a setoff for amounts the cooperative allegedly owes the member; such member-claimant may seek to show (probably unsuccessfully) that retained equities are debt subject to being used in setoff.
A claim made by someone who allegedly owes money, that the amount should be reduced because the other person owes him money. This is often raised in a counterclaim filed by a defendant in a lawsuit. Banks may try to exercise a setoff by taking money out of a deposit account to satisfy past due payments on a loan or credit card bill. Such an act is illegal under most circumstances.
A creditor's right to keep debtor's money that they have in their possession in order to apply it to a pre-petition debt owed by the debtor.
A claim by a defendant in a lawsuit that the plaintiff owes the defendant money which should therefore be subtracted from the amount of damages claimed by plaintiff.