Rule 1031.1 Cross-claim

When multiple people are involved in a lawsuit, one of the defendants can make a claim against another defendant in the same case. This is called a cross-claim. You do not have to file a separate lawsuit to do this.

A cross-claim can be used in two ways. First, you can argue that another defendant is the one who should actually be held responsible, not you. Second, you can claim that another defendant owes you something based on the same event or situation that started the original lawsuit.

To make a cross-claim, you include it in your answer to the lawsuit and label it "Cross-claim." This keeps all the related claims together in one case instead of spreading them across multiple lawsuits.