The third party defendant may assert against the plaintiff in the principal action any defenses which the third party plaintiff has against the principal demand.
Art. 1115.Defenses of Original Defendant Available to Third Party Defendant
Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title I. Pleading · Chapter 6. Incidental Actions · Amendment history unavailable · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 1115 lets a third-party defendant assert against the plaintiff in the principal action any defenses the third-party plaintiff has against the principal demand.
Full Text of Art. 1115
Plain-English Summary
A third-party defendant's fate is tied to whether the original defendant, now the third-party plaintiff, ends up liable to the plaintiff at all. Article 1115 lets the third-party defendant draw on that connection directly: any defense the third-party plaintiff has against the plaintiff's principal demand is also available to the third-party defendant.
This matters because the third-party defendant's own exposure often depends on the outcome between the plaintiff and the original defendant. If the original defendant has a strong defense that would defeat the plaintiff's claim outright, the third-party defendant doesn't have to sit on the sidelines and hope the original defendant raises it — Article 1115 lets the third-party defendant raise that same defense directly against the plaintiff.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a third-party defendant raise defenses the original defendant has against the plaintiff?
Yes. Article 1115 lets the third-party defendant assert against the plaintiff any defenses the third-party plaintiff has against the principal demand.
Why would a third-party defendant want to raise the original defendant's defenses?
Because the third-party defendant's own liability often depends on whether the plaintiff prevails against the original defendant at all. Defeating the principal demand can defeat the third-party demand too.
Does Article 1115 limit the third-party defendant to only the third-party plaintiff's defenses?
Article 1115 addresses defenses against the principal demand specifically; it doesn't prevent the third-party defendant from raising its own separate defenses to the third-party demand as well.
Source & verification. Article text is reproduced verbatim from
the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure (legis.la.gov). Enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.
Last verified July 30, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: third-party defendant defenses louisianaderivative defenses in a third-party demanddefenses available to an impleaded party