Rule 14.Third Party Practice

Division (A) allows a defending party, as third-party plaintiff, to serve a summons and complaint on someone not yet in the case who is or may be liable for all or part of the claim against it. No leave of court is required if the third-party complaint is filed within fourteen days after the original answer; after that, the third-party plaintiff must ask the court for leave on notice to all parties. The third-party defendant must raise defenses under Rule 12 and any counterclaims or cross-claims under Rule 13, and may also assert against the original plaintiff any defense the third-party plaintiff has, plus any claim of its own arising from the same transaction or occurrence as the plaintiff's claim. The plaintiff, in turn, may assert claims against the third-party defendant arising from that same transaction or occurrence, which the third-party defendant then answers under Rule 12 and may counterclaim or cross-claim against under Rule 13.

Any party may move to strike, sever, or separate the third-party claim for trial, and the court must order a separate trial if a plaintiff so moves and the third-party defendant is an employee, agent, or servant of the third-party plaintiff. A third-party defendant may in turn implead a further third-party defendant under the same procedure.

Division (B) extends the same right to a plaintiff: once a counterclaim is asserted against the plaintiff, the plaintiff may bring in a third party under the same circumstances that would let a defendant do so.