In the civil law. An action by a defendant against a plaintiff in a former action; a cross-bill or litigation. The term is used in practice in the states of Louisiana and Texas, derived from the re- conrcniio of the civil law. Reconvention is not identical with set-off, but more extensive. See Pacific Exp. Co. v. Malin, 132 II. S. 531, 10 Sup. Ct. 160, 33 L. Ed. 450; Suberville v. Adams, 47 La. Ann. 68, 16 South. 652; Girn- bel v. Gomprecht, 89 Tex. 497, 35 S. W. 470.