Rule 1.246.Third-party practice

Rule 1.246 sets out Iowa's third-party practice, the mechanism for pulling a person not yet part of the lawsuit into the case because that person may share responsibility for the plaintiff's claim. A defendant who wants to do this becomes a third-party plaintiff, files a cross-petition, and serves an original notice on the new party. File that cross-petition within 10 days of the original answer and no court permission is needed; miss that window and the defendant must ask the court by motion, with notice to everyone already in the case.

Once impleaded, the third-party defendant has to respond on three fronts: raising defenses to the third-party plaintiff's claim under rule 1.441, counterclaims against the third-party plaintiff under rule 1.241, and cross-claims against any other third-party defendants under rule 1.245. The rule also opens a door in the other direction -- the third-party defendant can raise against the original plaintiff any defense the third-party plaintiff has, and can bring its own claim against the plaintiff if it arises from the same transaction or occurrence as the plaintiff's underlying claim. The plaintiff, in turn, can assert a related claim directly against the third-party defendant, and the case can chain further: a third-party defendant may implead yet another person who may share liability. Any party unhappy with how crowded the case has become can move to strike the third-party claim or ask for severance or a separate trial.

Rule 1.246(2) closes a gap that might otherwise favor defendants: once a counterclaim is asserted against a plaintiff, that plaintiff can bring in a third party under the same circumstances that would let a defendant do so. A plaintiff facing a counterclaim is not stuck defending it alone if someone else may be responsible.