Newton v. Mitchell

The legal force and effect of the opinion as prepared by Mr. Justice THOMAS is to hold that if any defendant has any claim against any plaintiff "whether the subject of a pending action or not" that the defendant not only may counterclaim but must do so when the defendant's claim has arisen out of the "transaction or occurrence that is the subject matter of the action and does not require for its adjudication the presence of third parties of whom the court cannot acquire jurisdiction."

Section 52.11, F.S. 1941, F.S.A., is patterned after the Federal Rule 13 for the District Courts of the…