The counterclaim is abolished. Any cause of action that formerly was asserted by a counterclaim shall be asserted by a cross-complaint. Where any statute refers to asserting a cause of action as a counterclaim, such cause shall be asserted as a cross-complaint. The erroneous designation of a pleading as a counterclaim shall not affect its validity, but such pleading shall be deemed to be a cross-complaint.
§ 428.80.Counterclaim Abolished
Title 6. Of the Pleadings In Civil Actions · Chapter 2. Pleadings Demanding Relief · Article 4. Cross-Complaints · Enacted 1971 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 428.80 abolishes the counterclaim in California civil practice, requiring any claim formerly asserted as a counterclaim to be brought instead as a cross-complaint, and treats a pleading mislabeled as a counterclaim as a valid cross-complaint.
Full Text of § 428.80
Plain-English Summary
Section 428.80 closes out an older procedural vocabulary. The counterclaim — the historical device once used to assert a defendant's own claim against the plaintiff — no longer exists as a separate category in California practice. Any cause of action that used to be raised as a counterclaim must now be asserted through a cross-complaint instead, governed by §§ 428.10 through 428.70.
The section reaches into other statutes, too: wherever a statute refers to asserting a claim as a counterclaim, that claim is now asserted as a cross-complaint. The Legislature did not need to rewrite every cross-reference to “counterclaim” scattered through the code; this section does that work by substitution.
The final sentence is a forgiving drafting rule: mislabeling a pleading as a counterclaim does not make it invalid. The pleading is deemed a cross-complaint instead, so a party's outdated terminology does not cost it the substance of the claim.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a party still file a counterclaim in a California civil case?
No. Section 428.80 abolishes the counterclaim. Any cause of action formerly asserted by counterclaim must be asserted by cross-complaint instead.
What happens if a statute still refers to a 'counterclaim'?
Section 428.80 states that wherever a statute refers to asserting a cause of action as a counterclaim, that cause is instead asserted as a cross-complaint.
What if my attorney mistakenly labels a pleading a 'counterclaim'?
Section 428.80 protects against that mistake: the erroneous designation does not affect the pleading's validity, and it is deemed to be a cross-complaint.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1971, Ch. 244.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
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