John v. Maryland Casualty Co.

Upon the theory that a demurrer to a counterclaim opens the record and raises the sufficiency in law of any prior pleading, the defendant seeks to attack the complaint upon the ground that, by reason of the failure of the plaintiffs to allege compliance with the statute regulating voluntary assignments, the instrument under which they took title is void and therefore of no effect.

At common law the rule was that a demurrer to a pleading opened the record and raised the sufficiency in law of all prior pleadings. Lame v. Hyde, 39 Wis. 345, and cases cited. The *592basis of the rule at common law was…