small-claims-court claims
Must I pay counter claim award if less than original claim award?
<p>I won a claim in small claims for $2405. The defendant submitted a counter-claim and won $205. I received two separate letters in the mail, one for each claim.</p>

<p>Must I send the $205 to her for the counter-claim regardless of whether she pays the $2405? If she owes me money, why would I pay her?</p>

<p>Information for the jurisdiction of San Francisco, California is most desirable.</p>

<p>You can offset the amount but you must go to court to do it. The court can then grant you an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offset_(law)" rel="nofollow">offset</a>. <a href="http://interactivecounsel.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/Newsletter_-_Business_-_The_Law_of_Offset_020510.40222548.pdf" rel="nofollow">This document from a law office</a> describes the details.</p>

<p>The risk you run if you do not pay and do not do this properly is that she, with a valid judgement in her hand,  can take enforcement action including garnishee of bank accounts and seizure of property (of course, you can do the same to her).</p>
