Lebrecht v. Orefice

The purpose of the repeal in 1936 of former section 266 of the Civil Practice Act and its replacement with the present section 266 (L. 1936, ch. 324) was to encourage the disposition in one action of all claims between the parties thereto. To hold that the interposition of a counterclaim is not the commencement of an action within the meaning of section 23 of the Civil Practice Act would tend to discourage a defendant from interposing a counterclaim in accordance with the policy of the law since by counterclaiming he might lose rights which he would possess if instead he commenced a separate…