TITLE FOUR — PARTIES; JOINDER OF CLAIMS AND REMEDIES; CLASS ACTIONS
Rule 14. Third-Party Practice
When a Defending Party May Bring In a Third Party.
In General. A defending party may, as third-party plaintiff, bring in a person who is not a party to the action and who is or may be liable to the third-party plaintiff for all or part of the claim asserted against the third-party plaintiff. The third-party plaintiff brings that person in by filing a third-party complaint and causing a summons and the third-party complaint to be served upon that person as provided in Rule 4.
Timing; Leave of Court. A third-party complaint may be filed without leave of court if it is filed within forty-eight (48) hours after the third-party plaintiff’s answer is accepted for filing. In every other case the third-party plaintiff shall obtain leave of court by motion under Rule 7.1. Leave shall be granted where the third-party claim arises out of the transaction or occurrence that is the subject matter of the claim against the third-party plaintiff and the joinder will not unreasonably delay the disposition of the action.
Naming the Third-Party Defendant. A third-party defendant shall be identified in the third-party complaint by the username of the account through which that person acts, together with any other designation known to the third-party plaintiff. Where the person named holds no account in the electronic filing system, the Clerk shall enter that person upon the docket as a placeholder party bearing the username stated, and that entry confers no role, privilege, or authority upon the person named beyond party status.
Who May Add a Party. The electronic filing system permits a new party to be entered upon a case only by the Clerk, a judge, a court administrator, or an attorney in good standing before the Ridgeway State Bar. A self-represented party may not add a party. A self-represented defending party who is entitled to proceed under this rule shall so move under Rule 7.1, and upon granting the motion the court shall direct the Clerk to enter the third-party defendant upon the docket and to issue a summons. A filing transmitted by a self-represented party that purports to add a party shall be rejected by the Clerk under Rule 5.3, and the party’s remedy is the motion prescribed by this paragraph.
Summons; Service. Upon the entry of a third-party defendant, the Clerk shall issue a summons directed to that person. The summons and the third-party complaint shall be served together in the manner prescribed by Rule 4, by the Sheriff of the county where the person to be served is found, as provided by 7 R. Stat. § 131.102, or as the court otherwise orders. The Clerk shall not issue a summons in a matter to which Rule 5.4 applies or in a case that is not active. A summons may be re-issued upon request, and each issuance is recorded.
Failure to Serve. If the third-party defendant is not served within the period allowed by Rule 4 for service of the summons and complaint, and good cause for the failure is not shown, the court shall dismiss the third-party complaint as to that person without prejudice, on motion or on its own initiative.
Third-Party Defendant’s Claims and Defenses. The person served with the summons and third-party complaint, denominated the third-party defendant:
shall assert every compulsory counterclaim against the third-party plaintiff, and may assert any permissive counterclaim against the third-party plaintiff or any crossclaim against another third-party defendant, as provided in Rule 13.1;
may assert against the plaintiff any defense that the third-party plaintiff has to the plaintiff’s claim; and
may assert against the plaintiff any claim arising out of the transaction or occurrence that is the subject matter of the plaintiff’s claim against the third-party plaintiff.
Plaintiff’s Claims Against a Third-Party Defendant. The plaintiff may assert against the third-party defendant any claim arising out of the transaction or occurrence that is the subject matter of the plaintiff’s claim against the third-party plaintiff. The third-party defendant shall thereupon assert every defense available under Rule 12 and every compulsory counterclaim, and may assert any permissive counterclaim or crossclaim, as provided in Rule 13.1. A self-represented plaintiff who asserts such a claim adds no party by doing so, and no leave to add a party is required.
When a Plaintiff May Bring In a Third Party. When a claim is asserted against a plaintiff, the plaintiff may bring in a third party if this rule would permit a defendant to do so, and this rule applies to that plaintiff as though the plaintiff were a defending party.
Third-Party Defendant’s Claim Against a Nonparty. A third-party defendant may proceed under this rule against a person who is not a party and who is or may be liable to the third-party defendant for all or part of any claim asserted against the third-party defendant. Every requirement of subdivision (1) applies to that proceeding.
Motion to Strike, Sever, or Try Separately. Any party may move to strike the third-party claim, to sever it, or to try it separately. A motion under this subdivision shall be filed within forty-eight (48) hours after the third-party complaint is served, or at any later time for cause shown. The court may act on its own initiative. A claim severed under this subdivision proceeds as provided in Rule 17.2(2).
Third-Party Practice Involving the Government.
Official Capacity. A third-party claim against a person in that person’s official capacity as an agent of the government is a claim against the government and is construed as such under 7 R. Stat. § 122.004. Sovereign immunity under 7 R. Stat. § 122.002 and the limits upon monetary damages in 7 R. Stat. § 122.003 apply to the third-party claim as they apply to an original claim.
Service and Defense. A third-party complaint against the State of Ridgeway shall be served upon the Attorney General or the Solicitor General, as provided by 7 R. Stat. § 131.106. A third-party complaint against an agency, department, or officer of a county or municipal government shall be served as provided by 7 R. Stat. § 131.105. The Solicitor General shall defend the third-party claim as provided by 7 R. Stat. § 122.005, and may refuse to defend as provided by 7 R. Stat. §§ 122.008 and 122.012.
Effect Upon the Pre-Trial Period. The filing of a third-party complaint does not of itself enlarge the pre-trial period prescribed by Rule 6. Where the joinder of a third-party defendant cannot fairly be accommodated within the remaining pre-trial period, the court shall either enlarge that period under Rule 6 or sever the third-party claim under Rule 17.2(2).
Designation Upon the Docket. The electronic filing system records each party in one of the roles it provides. A third-party defendant is entered in the defending role and is designated in the caption of every pleading and in every order as a third-party defendant. The role recorded by the system does not enlarge or diminish the designation fixed by the pleadings and by the orders of the court.