Mr. G. W. Lakin, for the plaintiff: 1. The record offered was inadmissible under the plea of non assumpsit. That plea puts the plaintiff to the proof of all that he alleges. It makes no allusion to a 'former recovery,' nor to any claim that the supposed original liability has assumed a higher form. It is also at variance with the rule, that a matter of defence, which admits the facts stated in the declaration, but avoids them, should be specially pleaded.2
Mason v. Eldred Et Al. - United States Supreme Court
Mr. G. W. Lakin, for the plaintiff: 1. The record offered was inadmissible under the plea of non assumpsit. That plea puts the plaintiff to the proof of all that he alleges. It makes no allusion to a 'former recovery,' nor to any claim that the supposed original liability has assumed a higher form. It is also at variance with the rule, that a matter of defence, which admits the facts stated in the declaration, but avoids them, should be specially pleaded.2