AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE DEFINED

To explain what an affirmative defense is, we first need to understand how a lawsuit works. Typically, a lawsuit starts with the plaintiff filing a document with the court called a complaint. In the complaint the plaintiff alleges its causes of action and asks for damages. The defendant has to then defend himself. The most common way a defendant goes about defending himself is by filing a document called an answer with the court. In the answer, the defendant can deny claims set forth by the plaintiff (simply stating that the plaintiff's claims are not true) or the defendant can state that there are additional facts or arguments that will defeat the plaintiff's claims. These additional facts or arguments are what is known as affirmative defenses. Some of the more common affirmative defenses in a breach of contract or negligence case are listed below.

Statute of Limitations -- The plaintiff filed the lawsuit after the deadline imposed by law. For instance, if there is a dispute about a written contract, you have four years from the date that the contract was breached to file a lawsuit.

Accord and Satisfaction -- Simply, the plaintiff and defendant already settled the dispute.

Failure to Mitigate Damages -- If the plaintiff could have used ordinary care to lessen the damage, then the plaintiff should have done so.

Comparative/Contributory Negligence -- If the damages suffered is partly the plaintiff's fault, then the defendant can ask for a reduction (comparative negligence) or the complete bar of (contributory negligence) damages.

There are more affirmative defenses. The above is just a few of them.