Rule 14.Third party practice

Rule 14 covers what lawyers call impleader — a defendant's ability to pull a new party into an existing lawsuit rather than filing a separate action later. Any time after the case begins, a defending party may serve a summons and third-party complaint on someone who is or may be liable for all or part of the plaintiff's claim against that defendant, such as a subcontractor, guarantor, or co-obligor. If the third-party plaintiff files within 10 days of serving the original answer, no court permission is needed; after that, the party must ask the court for leave on notice to everyone already in the case.

Once served, the third-party defendant steps into the same procedural posture as any other defendant: it must raise defenses to the third-party claim under Rule 12 and any counterclaims or cross claims under Rule 13. The rule also opens several cross-cutting avenues for claims — the third-party defendant may raise against the plaintiff any defense the third-party plaintiff has, and may bring its own claim against the plaintiff if it arises from the same transaction or occurrence. The plaintiff, in turn, may assert a claim directly against the third-party defendant on that same subject matter, at which point the third-party defendant must respond with defenses and counterclaims of its own. Any party can move to strike the third-party claim or ask that it be severed or tried separately, and a third-party defendant can repeat the same process against a further party down the chain.

A plaintiff facing a counterclaim gets the same tool: if a defendant counterclaims against the plaintiff, the plaintiff may bring in a third party under the same circumstances that would let a defendant do so. One limit applies specifically to tort cases — a liability or indemnity insurer cannot be joined as a third-party defendant unless a statute or contract makes that insurer directly liable to the injured or damaged person.