A 8728: Enacts the "avoiding vexatious overuse of impleading to delay (AVOID) act" which relates to time frames for certain court filings.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8728 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY June 2, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. LUNSFORD -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Judiciary AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to enact- ing the "avoiding vexatious overuse of impleading to delay (AVOID) act" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "avoiding 2 vexatious overuse of impleading to delay (AVOID) act". 3 § 2. Section 1007 of the civil practice law and rules, as amended by 4 chapter 216 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows: 5 § 1007. When third-party practice allowed. (a) After the service of 6 [his] a defendant's answer, [a] the defendant may proceed against a 7 person or legal entity not a party who is or may be liable to that 8 defendant for all or part of the plaintiff's claim against that defend- 9 ant, by filing pursuant to section three hundred four of this chapter a 10 third-party summons and complaint with the clerk of the court in the 11 county in which the main action is pending, for which a separate index 12 number shall not be issued but a separate index number fee shall be 13 collected. The third-party summons and complaint and all prior pleadings 14 served in the action shall be served upon such person or legal entity 15 within [one hundred] twenty days of the filing. A defendant serving a 16 third-party complaint shall be styled a third-party plaintiff and the 17 person or legal entity so served shall be styled a third-party defend- 18 ant. The defendant shall also serve a copy of such third-party complaint 19 upon the plaintiff's attorney simultaneously upon issuance for service 20 of the third-party complaint on the third-party defendant. 21 (b) 1. A defendant shall proceed with the filing and serving of a 22 third-party summons and complaint against a person or legal entity who 23 is or may be liable to that defendant for all or part of the plaintiff's 24 claim against that defendant within sixty days after serving an answer EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD13132-03-5 
 A. 8728 2 1 upon the plaintiff in the event that such liability arises from a 2 contractual relationship between the defendant and such person or enti- 3 ty, or otherwise within sixty days of becoming aware that such person is 4 or may be liable to the defendant for all or part of a plaintiff's 5 claim. 6 2. A third-party defendant who proceeds with the filing of its own 7 third-party summons and complaint, becoming in effect a second third- 8 party plaintiff, shall proceed with the filing and serving of such 9 summons and complaint against a second third-party defendant, within 10 forty-five days after serving an answer. 11 3. A second third-party defendant who then proceeds with the filing of 12 its own third-party summons and complaint, becoming in effect a third 13 third-party plaintiff, shall proceed with the filing and serving of such 14 summons and complaint against a third third-party defendant within thir- 15 ty days after serving an answer. 16 4. Any subsequent third-party defendant, who proceeds with the filing 17 of its own third-party summons and complaint, becoming in effect an 18 additional third-party plaintiff, shall proceed with the filing of such 19 summons and complaint against an additional third-party defendant within 20 twenty days after serving an answer. 21 5. There shall be no extensions of the time periods set forth in this 22 subdivision longer than thirty days without an order of the court, 23 provided that a defendant or third-party defendant may not proceed with 24 the filing and serving a third-party summons and complaint twelve months 25 after having filed an answer in the action without written consent of 26 both the plaintiff and the court. 27 (c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of this section, a defendant or 28 third-party defendant may not proceed with the filing of a third-party 29 summons and complaint after the filing of a note of issue. An action 30 filed in violation of this subdivision shall be severed or dismissed 31 without prejudice. 32 (d) The time periods set forth in subdivisions (b) and (c) of this 33 section shall not apply when a defendant or third-party defendant seeks 34 to file and proceed with a third-party summons and complaint against an 35 employer of the plaintiff in the event that either: 1. the defendant or 36 third-party defendant is seeking contribution or indemnification for a 37 grave injury as such term in defined in section eleven of the workers' 38 compensation law, or 2. the identity of such employer had not been known 39 to the defendant or third-party defendant or otherwise identified until 40 the such time periods have expired. In either instance, the defendant or 41 third-party defendant shall proceed with the filing and serving of a 42 summons and complaint within one hundred twenty days after the later of 43 either event. An action in violation of this subdivision shall not be 44 allowed to proceed without written consent of both the plaintiff and the 45 court. 46 (e) In the event a third-party action is severed from the initial 47 action, and a third-party plaintiff proceeds to initiate a new action by 48 the filing of a summons and complaint against a severed third-party 49 defendant, any motion to consolidate such actions shall not be permit- 50 ted. 51 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 52 it shall have become a law and shall apply to cases pending on or after 53 such date; provided, however, this act shall not apply to any third-par- 54 ty summons and complaint filed and served prior to the effective date of 55 this act.