A State A book dealer sold a number of rare comic books to a State B collector for $90,000. The collector paid $10,000 upon delivery and agreed to pay the balance in eight monthly installments of $10,000 each. Two weeks after the sale, the dealer and the collector were involved in an automobile accident that was unrelated to the comic book transaction. The dealer filed a negligence action against the collector in federal district court to recover $100,000 for injuries incurred in the automobile accident. If the collector wishes to assert a $90,000 fraud claim against the dealer on the grounds that the comic books were counterfeit, may the collector assert this claim in the pending negligence action?

A The collector must assert the fraud claim against the dealer in a separate action because the two claims do not arise from the same transaction or occurrence.

B The collector will be foreclosed from asserting the fraud claim unless he asserts it as a counterclaim in the pending negligence action.

C The collector may assert the fraud claim either as a counterclaim or in a separate lawsuit.

D The collector may file a motion seeking leave to assert the fraud claim as a counterclaim, and the court has discretion to allow or disallow the joinder.