IMPLEADER
A procedural device used in a civil action whereby a defendant brings into the lawsuit a third party who is not already a party to the action but may ultimately be liable for the plaintiff ’s claim against the defendant.
Impleader is most commonly used where
the third party, often an insurance company, has
a duty to indemnify, or contribute to the pay-
ment of, the plaintiff ’s damages. An insurance
policy usually provides that if the insured is
sued, the insurance company will defend him or
her in court and pay any damages owed if he or
she is found liable in the action. For example,
suppose a person slips and falls on a home-
owner’s property, suffers an injury, and sues the
homeowner. If the homeowner has a home-
owner’s policy, he may implead his insurance
company by filing a third-party complaint for
approval by the court. If the court permits the
complaint, the insurer is brought into the
action. The homeowner is now both the defen-
dant in the action and a third-party plaintiff. If
he is found liable and ordered to pay damages,
the insurance company will be expected to pay
all or part of those damages.
Impleader, which was known as vouching-in
at COMMON LAW, is now governed by procedural
rules on both the state and federal levels.
“Vouching in” has its origins in the English
common-law practice of “vouching to war-
ranty.” A defendant, sued by a plaintiff for the
recovery of a certain piece of property, could
“vouch in” another party who may have given a
WARRANTY of title when the property was sold
to the defendant. Similar types of third-party
actions began to appear in this country and
eventually, in the interests of uniformity, a fed-
eral rule of civil procedure providing for
impleader was adopted. Rule 14 of the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure provides that “a defend-
ing party, as a third-party plaintiff, may cause a
summons and complaint to be served upon a
person not a party to the action who is or may be
liable to the third-party plaintiff for all or part of
the plaintiff ’s claim against the third-party plain-
tiff.” State rules of civil procedure regulate the use
of impleader in actions commenced in state
courts. In Connecticut, for instance, “a defendant
in any civil action may move the court for per-
mission to serve a writ, summons and complaint
upon a person not a party to the action who is or
may be liable to him for all or part of the plain-
tiff ’s claim against him” (Conn. R. Super. Ct.
117). Both federal and state court impleader
rules are designed to promote judicial economy
by disposing of two or more trials in one action,
thus eliminating the need for the defendant to
sue the third party at a later time.
A third party who is brought into an action
through impleader is entitled to defend herself
or himself against the claims of both the plain-
tiff and the defendant, raising whatever defenses
may be applicable. An insurance company may
allege that the policy issued to the defendant
does not cover the acts that gave rise to the law-
suit and thus led the defendant to implead the
company. For example, suppose Ann has been
sued for allegedly assaulting Susan and has filed
an impleader to have her insurance company
defend her and pay any damages against her.
The insurance company may refuse to defend
her on the ground that the policy does not cover
intentional acts, such as assaulting another per-
son. If the court agrees, the insurance company
will not have to defend Susan or pay any dam-
ages that Ann is awarded by the court or a jury.
The court has a great deal of discretion in
deciding whether a defendant may implead a
third party. The court considers a number of fac-
tors, including whether joining the third party
will unduly complicate the action, cause delay in
deciding the main action (the original suit
brought by the plaintiff against the defendant),
adversely affect the plaintiff, or confuse the jury.
If any of these factors is present, the court may
refuse to permit the impleader. The court’s deci-
sion to grant or deny the impleader will be over-
turned by an appellate court only if it appears
