What is a cross-complaint, and should my business file one?

A cross-complaint is your business's own affirmative claim against the party who originally sued you, filed within that same existing lawsuit rather than as a separate, standalone case. If, for example, a supplier delivered goods late and that delay directly cost your business a customer or a contract, or a landlord failed to make repairs they were contractually obligated to make and your business lost trading days as a direct result, either of those situations could form the basis of your own cross-complaint.

It's important to know that what's called a compulsory cross-complaint, meaning one arising from the same underlying transaction or occurrence as the plaintiff's original claim against you, generally must be filed alongside your answer within the same response window, or you permanently lose the ability to raise that specific claim at all, even in a separate future lawsuit. This makes identifying a potential cross-complaint early, before your answer deadline, a genuinely important step rather than something to consider later.