surrejoin

The defendant surrejoined to the plaintiff's claim.

Definition

1. Verb (intransitive, legal):
   • To reply to a rejoinder: In legal pleading, "surrejoin" means to answer or respond to a rejoinder (the defendant's answer to the plaintiff's replication). It is a rare, technical term used in common law pleading, typically in the context of a series of formal exchanges between parties in a lawsuit.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • The plaintiff was allowed to surrejoin after the defendant filed a rejoinder. (The plaintiff formally responded to the defendant's answer.)
  • In the old common law system, a party could surrejoin only after a rejoinder was made. (A legal step in the sequence of pleadings.)

Advanced Usage

• Legal context: "Surrejoin" is part of a historical sequence of pleadings: declaration → plea → replication → rejoinder → surrejoinder (the act of surrejoining). It is rarely used in modern courts, which prefer simplified procedures.
  • The attorney prepared a surrejoinder to counter the defendant's arguments. (The formal written response after the rejoinder.)

Variants and Related Words

• Surrejoinder (noun): the formal reply made by a plaintiff to a defendant's rejoinder.
  • The court accepted the surrejoinder as part of the record. (The written document containing the surrejoin.)

Synonyms

• Rejoin: to answer a reply (though this is more general).
• Counterplead: to plead in opposition (rare, legal).

Related Idioms

• Plead the fifth: to decline to answer (not a direct synonym, but related to legal responses).
• Have the last word: to make a final reply (informal, not legal).