(a) When Defendant May Bring in Third Party. At any time after commencement of the action a defending party, as a third party plaintiff, may cause a summons and complaint to be served upon a person not a party to the action who is or may be liable to him for all or part of the plaintiffs claim against him. The third party plaintiff need not obtain leave to make the service if he files the third party complaint not later than 10 days after he files his answer. Otherwise, he must obtain leave on motion upon notice to all parties to the action. The person served with the summons and the third party complaint, hereinafter called the third-party defendant, shall make his defenses to the third party plaintiff’s claim as provided in Rule 12 and his counterclaims against the third party plaintiff and cross-claims against other third party defendants as provided in Rule 13. The third party defendant may assert against the plaintiff any defenses which the third party plaintiff has to the plaintiff’s claim. The third party defendant may also assert any claim against the plaintiff arising out of the transaction or occurrence that is the subject matter of the plaintiffs claim against the third party plaintiff. The plaintiff may assert any claim against the third party defendant arising out of the transaction or occurrence that is the subject matter of the plaintiff’s claim against the third party plaintiff and the third party defendant shall thereupon assert his defenses as provided in Rule 12 and his counterclaims and cross-claims as provided in Rule 13. Any party may move to strike the third party claim or for its severance or separate trial. A third party defendant may proceed under this rule against any person not a party to the action who is or may be liable to him for all or part of the claim made in the action against the third party defendant.
Rule 14.Third-Party Practice
Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceRule 14 lets a defendant, and in some cases a plaintiff, bring a new party into the case who may owe part or all of the liability at stake, so related claims for indemnity or contribution can be resolved in one lawsuit.
Full Text of Rule 14
(b) When Plaintiff May Bring in Third Party. When a counterclaim is asserted against a plaintiff, he may cause a third party to be brought in under circumstances which under this rule would entitle a defendant to do so.
Reporter's Notes
Reporter’s Notes to Rule 14: 1. Rule 14 is substantially the same as FRCP and superseded Ark. Stat. Ann. § 27-1134.1 (Supp. 1975). The latter was patterned after the Federal Rule. Omitted are the references in FRCP 14(a) to admiralty and maritime claims. Section (c) of the Federal Rule is omitted in its entirety.
2. Superseded Ark. Stat. Ann. § 27-1134.1 (Supp. 1975) provided that where a third party complaint was not filed within ten days after the filing of the answer, leave of court on motion was required. This rule follows the requirement contained in the Federal Rule that leave of the court must be obtained on motion upon notice to all parties to the action. This will afford the opportunity to parties already in an action to object to the filing of a third party complaint if objection is warranted.
3. The purpose of Rule 14, as construed by the federal courts, is to facilitate the trial of multiple claims which would otherwise be triable only in separate proceedings. United States v. Yellow Cab Co., 340 U.S. 543, 71 S. Ct. 399 (1951). There is no set time during which a third party action must be initiated by a defendant; rather, the timeliness of defendant’s application is left to the discretion of the trial court which must consider whether allowing the third party complaint will result in prejudice to the other parties. Meilinger v. Metropolitan Edison Co., 34 F.R.D. 143 (D.C. Pa., 1963); Kubik v. Goldfield, 61 F.R.D. 572 (D.C. Pa., 1974).
Plain-English Summary
Rule 14(a) allows a defending party, acting as a third-party plaintiff, to serve a summons and complaint on someone not already in the case who is or may be liable to that defending party for all or part of the plaintiff's claim. This is the tool defendants use to pull in an indemnitor, a co-obligor, or anyone else who may end up footing part of the bill if the defendant loses. No court permission is needed if the third-party complaint is filed within 10 days of the defendant's own answer; after that window closes, the defendant must ask the court for leave, on a motion with notice to everyone already in the case, so existing parties get a chance to object if bringing in a new party would cause problems.
Once served, the third-party defendant steps into a web of the same rules that govern the original parties. It must respond to the third-party plaintiff's claim under Rule 12, and it raises any counterclaims against the third-party plaintiff or cross-claims against other third-party defendants under Rule 13. The rule also opens direct lines between the third-party defendant and the original plaintiff, even though they are not directly suing each other in the traditional sense: the third-party defendant may raise any defense the third-party plaintiff has against the plaintiff's claim, and may assert its own claim against the plaintiff if it arises from the same transaction or occurrence as the plaintiff's claim against the third-party plaintiff. The plaintiff, for its part, may assert a claim directly against the third-party defendant on that same transaction or occurrence, at which point the third-party defendant answers the plaintiff under Rule 12 and raises counterclaims or cross-claims under Rule 13 just as it would against the original defendant.
Any party in the case may move to strike the third-party claim, or ask that it be severed or tried separately, which gives the court a release valve if impleader would confuse the jury or unfairly complicate the case. And the chain does not have to stop at one link: a third-party defendant facing exposure of its own may use Rule 14 again to bring in a further party who may be liable to it for all or part of the claim now made against it. Rule 14(b) extends the same mechanism to a plaintiff who finds itself facing a counterclaim; in that situation the plaintiff may bring in a third party under the same circumstances that would let a defendant do so.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is third-party practice used for under Rule 14?
It lets a defending party bring a new person into the lawsuit who is or may be liable to that defending party for all or part of the plaintiff's claim, most often for indemnity or contribution. Instead of the defendant paying a judgment and then filing a separate suit to recover from the responsible party, Rule 14 lets that claim get resolved in the same case.
Do I need the court's permission to file a third-party complaint?
Not if it is filed within 10 days of the defendant's own answer. After that, Rule 14(a) requires leave of court on a motion, with notice to all parties already in the case, so the court and the other parties can weigh in before a new party is added.
What claims can a third-party defendant raise once brought into the case?
The third-party defendant must answer the third-party plaintiff's claim under Rule 12 and may raise counterclaims against the third-party plaintiff or cross-claims against other third-party defendants under Rule 13. It may also assert any defense the third-party plaintiff has against the original plaintiff, and it may bring its own claim against the plaintiff if that claim arises from the same transaction or occurrence.
Can a plaintiff use Rule 14 to bring in a third party?
Yes. Rule 14(b) allows a plaintiff who has a counterclaim asserted against it to bring in a third party under the same circumstances that would let a defendant do so under Rule 14(a).
How is Rule 14 different from the nonparty-fault notice in Rule 9(h)?
Rule 14 creates an actual claim against the third party, one that can result in a judgment requiring that party to indemnify or contribute to a defendant's liability. Rule 9(h), by contrast, only gives notice so a jury can allocate a percentage of fault to a nonparty; it does not by itself create any claim or judgment against that nonparty.
Can a third-party defendant bring in yet another party?
Yes. Rule 14(a) allows a third-party defendant to proceed against any other person not already a party who is or may be liable to it for all or part of the claim made against it, extending the same impleader chain further if needed.
Source & verification. Rule text, Reporter's Notes, and amendment
history are reproduced verbatim from the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure, prescribed by
the Arkansas Supreme Court. The plain-English summary is original and written by us.
Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: third party complaint arkansasimpleader arkansasindemnity claim arkansas rule 14bringing in third party defendant arkansasarkansas rule 14