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Rule 14.02 When Plaintiff May Bring in Third Party

Rule 14. Third-party Practice

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Rule Text

When a counterclaim is asserted against a plaintiff, the plaintiff may cause a third party to be brought in under circumstances which under this rule would entitle a defendant to do so.

Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)

This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.

If someone sues you back with a counterclaim after you filed your own lawsuit, you become a defendant on that counterclaim. This rule says that in that situation, you have the same right defendants normally have to bring a third party into the case.

In plain terms, if you started the lawsuit but now find yourself facing a counterclaim, you can pull in another person or company who might be responsible for the claim against you. This works the same way a regular defendant would use this process. The idea is to let all related claims get sorted out in one case instead of forcing separate lawsuits.

So if you're the original plaintiff but get hit with a counterclaim, don't assume you're stuck defending it alone. If someone else should share the blame or cover the cost, you may be able to bring them into the case too.

Committee Notes

Advisory Commission Comments.

Rule 14 allows a defendant to bring in, as a third-party defendant, any new party who is or may be liable to defendant for all or part of the plaintiff's claim against the defendant. Third-party defendants have all of the rights as to cross-claims and counterclaims as do the original parties to the suit, including the right to bring in additional parties who may be liable to the third-party defendant for the claims asserted against him or her. If a counterclaim is asserted against a plaintiff, the plaintiff may bring in new parties under the same circumstances as if the plaintiff were a defendant. The rule thus makes it possible for ultimate liability to be determined in a single suit where there are several parties whose rights and liabilities are interconnected. A third-party claim is subject to being stricken or tried separately on motion of any party.

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Last updated: August 2026

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