Art. 1062 Pleading compensation

If someone sues you and you believe they actually owe you money too, you can bring up that debt as part of your counterclaim. In Louisiana, this counterclaim is called a "reconventional demand." This rule allows you to use compensation (which basically means canceling out debts that two people owe each other) as part of that counterclaim.

For example, say someone sues you for $5,000, but you believe they owe you $2,000 from a separate deal. Instead of filing a whole new lawsuit, you can raise that $2,000 debt within your response to their case. If the court agrees, it can subtract what they owe you from what you owe them, so you would only end up owing $3,000.

This rule makes it easier to settle money disputes between two people in one case, instead of needing separate lawsuits for each debt.