§ 1007 — When third-party practice allowed

* § 1007. When third-party practice allowed. After the service of his\nanswer, a defendant may proceed against a person not a party who is or\nmay be liable to that defendant for all or part of the plaintiff's claim\nagainst that defendant, by filing pursuant to section three hundred four\nof this chapter a third-party summons and complaint with the clerk of\nthe court in the county in which the main action is pending, for which a\nseparate index number shall not be issued but a separate index number\nfee shall be collected. The third-party summons and complaint and all\nprior pleadings served in the action shall be served upon such person\nwithin one hundred twenty days of the filing. A defendant serving a\nthird-party complaint shall be styled a third-party plaintiff and the\nperson so served shall be styled a third-party defendant. The defendant\nshall also serve a copy of such third-party complaint upon the\nplaintiff's attorney simultaneously upon issuance for service of the\nthird-party complaint on the third-party defendant.\n * NB Effective until April 18, 2026\n * § 1007. When third-party practice allowed. (a) After the service of\na defendant's answer, the defendant may proceed against a person or\nlegal entity not a party who is or may be liable to that defendant for\nall or part of the plaintiff's claim against that defendant, by filing\npursuant to section three hundred four of this chapter a third-party\nsummons and complaint with the clerk of the court in the county in which\nthe main action is pending, for which a separate index number shall not\nbe issued but a separate index number fee shall be collected. The\nthird-party summons and complaint and all prior pleadings served in the\naction shall be served upon such person or legal entity within twenty\ndays of the filing. A defendant serving a third-party complaint shall be\nstyled a third-party plaintiff and the person or legal entity so served\nshall be styled a third-party defendant. The defendant shall also serve\na copy of such third-party complaint upon the plaintiff's attorney\nsimultaneously upon issuance for service of the third-party complaint on\nthe third-party defendant.\n (b) 1. A defendant shall proceed with the filing and serving of a\nthird-party summons and complaint against a person or legal entity who\nis or may be liable to that defendant for all or part of the plaintiff's\nclaim against that defendant within sixty days after serving an answer\nupon the plaintiff in the event that such liability arises from a\ncontractual relationship between the defendant and such person or\nentity, or otherwise within sixty days of becoming aware that such\nperson is or may be liable to the defendant for all or part of a\nplaintiff's claim.\n 2. A third-party defendant who proceeds with the filing of its own\nthird-party summons and complaint, becoming in effect a second\nthird-party plaintiff, shall proceed with the filing and serving of such\nsummons and complaint against a second third-party defendant, within\nforty-five days after serving an answer.\n 3. A second third-party defendant who then proceeds with the filing of\nits own third-party summons and complaint, becoming in effect a third\nthird-party plaintiff, shall proceed with the filing and serving of such\nsummons and complaint against a third third-party defendant within\nthirty days after serving an answer.\n 4. Any subsequent third-party defendant, who proceeds with the filing\nof its own third-party summons and complaint, becoming in effect an\nadditional third-party plaintiff, shall proceed with the filing of such\nsummons and complaint against an additional third-party defendant within\ntwenty days after serving an answer.\n 5. There shall be no extensions of the time periods set forth in this\nsubdivision longer than thirty days without an order of the court,\nprovided that a defendant or third-party defendant may not proceed with\nthe filing and serving a third-party summons and complaint twelve months\nafter having filed an answer in the action without written consent of\nboth the plaintiff and the court.\n (c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of this section, a defendant or\nthird-party defendant may not proceed with the filing of a third-party\nsummons and complaint after the filing of a note of issue. An action\nfiled in violation of this subdivision shall be severed or dismissed\nwithout prejudice.\n (d) The time periods set forth in subdivisions (b) and (c) of this\nsection shall not apply when a defendant or third-party defendant seeks\nto file and proceed with a third-party summons and complaint against an\nemployer of the plaintiff in the event that either: 1. the defendant or\nthird-party defendant is seeking contribution or indemnification for a\ngrave injury as such term in defined in section eleven of the workers'\ncompensation law, or 2. the identity of such employer had not been known\nto the defendant or third-party defendant or otherwise identified until\nthe such time periods have expired. In either instance, the defendant or\nthird-party defendant shall proceed with the filing and serving of a\nsummons and complaint within one hundred twenty days after the later of\neither event. An action in violation of this subdivision shall not be\nallowed to proceed without written consent of both the plaintiff and the\ncourt.\n (e) In the event a third-party action is severed from the initial\naction, and a third-party plaintiff proceeds to initiate a new action by\nthe filing of a summons and complaint against a severed third-party\ndefendant, any motion to consolidate such actions shall not be\npermitted.\n * NB Effective April 18, 2026\n