Yosef Karo, Shulchan Aruch — Choshen Mishpat 24
“ Paragraph 1- We deal with the plaintiff’s case first. If the defendant’s properties are depreciating, we deal with his claims first. This means that if Reuven claims money from Shimon in a situation where Shimon cannot claim he paid back, and Shimon counterclaims and seeks more than 30 days to bring witnesses, which is the time frame the court works with, we deal with the plaintiff’s claim first and Shimon must pay immediately even though we know that Shimon does indeed have witnesses on the matter, unless Shimon’s properties are depreciating and he will suffer damage. ”
