RULE%14.%THIRD-PARTY%PRACTICE%
!
! (a)! When! Defendant! May! Bring! in! Third! Party.! ! At! any! time! after!
commencement!of!the!action!a!defendant!as!a!third-party!plaintiff!may!cause!
to! be!served!a!summons,!complaint,!and! notice! regarding! Electronic! Service !
upon! a! person! not! a! party! to! the! action! who! is! or! may! be! liable! to! such!
third-party! plaintiff! for! all! or! part! of! the! plaintiff’s! claim! against! the! third-
party! plaintiff.! ! The! person! so! served,! hereinafter! called! the! third-party!
defendant,! shall! make! any! defenses! to! the! third-party! plaintiff’s! claim! as!
provided! in! Rule! 12! and! any! counterclaims! against! the! third-party! plaintiff!
and!cross-claims!against!other!third-party!defendants!as!provided!in!Rule!13.!!
The!third-party!defendant!may!assert!against!the!plaintiff!any!de fenses!which!
the!third-party! plaintiff! has!to!the!plaintiff’s!claim.! !The!third-party!defendant!
may! also! assert!any! claim! within!the! subject-matter!jurisdiction!of!the!court !
against! the! plaintiff! arising! out! of! the! transaction! or! occurrence! that! is! the!
subject! matter! of! the! plaintiff’s! claim! against! the! third-party! plaintiff.! ! The!
plaintiff! may! assert! any! claim! within! the! subject-matter! jurisdiction! of! the!
court! against! the! third-party! defendant! arising! out! of! the! transaction! or!
occurrence!that!is!the!subject!matter!of!the!plaintiff’s!claim!against!the!third-
party! plaintiff,! and! the! plaintiff’s! failure! to! do! so! shall! have! the! effect! of! the!
failure! to! state! a! claim! in! a! pleading! under! Rule!13(a).! ! The! third-party!
defendant!thereupon!shall!assert!any!defenses! as!provided!in!Rule!12!and!any!
counterclaims! and! cross-claims! as! provide d! in! Rule! 13! and! in! the! District!
Court!may!remo ve!the!action!to!the! Superior!Court!as!provided!i n!Rule!76C.!!
Any! party! may! move! for! severance,! separate! trial,! or! dismissal! of! the! third-
party! claim;! the! court! may! direct! a! final! judgment! upon! either! the! original!
claim!or!the!third-party!claim!above!in!accordance!with!the!provisions!of!Rule!
54(b).! ! A! third-party! defendant! may! proceed! under! this! rule! against! any!
person! not! a! party! to! the! action! who! is! or! may! be! liable! t o ! t he! third-party!
defendant!for!all!or!part!of!the!claim!made!in!the!action!against!the!third-party!
defendant.!!
!
! (b)! When! Plaintiff! May! Bring! in! Third! Party.! ! 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.!!
!
! (c)!Orders!for!Protection!of!Parties!and!Prevention!of!Delay.!!The!court!
may!make!such!orders!as!will!prevent!a!party!from!being!embarrassed! or! put!
to!undue!expense,!or!will!prevent!delay!of!the!trial!or!other!proceedings,!by!
the! assertion! of! a! third-party! claim,! and! may! dismiss! the! third-party! claim,!
order! separate! trials, ! or! make! other! orders! to! prevent! delay! or! prejudice.!
Unless!otherwise!specified!i n!the!order,!a!dismissal!under!this!rule!is!without!
prejudice.!
%
Advisory%Note–%July%2018%
%
The! amendment! to! Rule! 14,! together! with! amendments! to! Rules! 3,! 4,!
5(b),!11,!and!101!of!the!Maine!Rules!of!Civil!Procedure,!is!part!of!a!package!of!
related!amendments!to!require!parties!to!civil!actions!to!serve!pl eadings!and!
other! papers! electronically! upon! on e! another! f ollowing! ser vice! of! the!
summons!and!complaint!under!Rule!4.!
!
A!more!detailed!description!of!Electronic!Service!and!the!procedures!for!
complying! with! its! requirements,! as! well! as! opt-out! procedures,! is! stated! in!
the!Advisory!Note!to!Rule!5.!
%
Reporter's%Notes%
December%1,%195 9!
!
! This!rule!is!similar!to!Federal!Rule!14.!!It!represents!a!drastic!departure!
from! Maine! practice.! When! a! defend ant! believes! that! a! third! person,! not! a !
party! to! the! action,!is!or! may! be! liable! to!him!for!all! or!part! of!the! plaintiff's!
claim,!he! may! bring!such! third!person!into!the! case!as! a!party!by!servic e!upon!
him!of!a!summons!and!complaint.!!Th us !t he!entire!controversy!can!be!settled!
in!a!single!proceeding.!Under! existing! practice!the!defendant!must!submit!to!
judgment! in! the! original! action! before! he! can! sue! the! third! party.! ! He! may,!
however,! by! giving! the! third! part y! notice! and! calling! upon! him! to! defend,!
make!the!judgment!conclusive!against!the!third!party,!whether!he!appears!or!
not.! ! Davis& v.& Smith,!79!Me.! 351,! 1 0! A.! 55! (1887).! ! Moreover,! although! not! a!
party!to!the!record,!such!third!party!has!standing!under!R.S.1954,!Chap.!123,!
Sec.! 1(111)! (repealed! in! 19 59),! to! bring! a! petition! for! review.! ! Vermeule& v.&
Brazer,! 128! Me.! 437,! 148! A.! 566! (1930).! Hence! the! proposed! rule! has! a!
respectable! origin! in! present! Maine! practice.! ! Finally,! under! R.S.1954,! Chap.!
96,! Sec.! 93! [now! 23!M.R.S.A.! §!3701],! there! is! a! provision! for! third-party!
procedure! in! an! action! against! a ! town! for! a! defect! in! a! railroad! crossing!
constituting!part!of!a!highway.!
!
! The!use!of!this!device!is!optional!with!the!defendant,!who!may!elect!to!
wait! and! bring! a! separate! action.! ! It! is! also! discretionary! with! the! court!
whether!to! allow! the!impleader!to! proceed.!!Impleader! cannot! b e! used! by! a!
defendant!who!contends!that!it!is!the!third!party!instead!of!the!defendant!who!
is!liable!to!the!plaintiff.!
!
! The!rule!is!careful!in!the!terminology!used.!!The!term!"plaintiff"!always!
refers! to ! the! original! plaint iff! in! the! action.! ! The! t erm! "t hird-party! plaintiff"!
always! is! used! to! designate! the! defendant! in! the! original! action! who! asserts!
the! third-party! claim! against!a! third! party,!who!is ! alw ays! referred!to! as!the!
"third-party! defendant."! ! Careful! reading! of! the! rule! should! avoid! any!
confusion.!
!
! In!pr actice!the!third-party!plaintiff!should!attach!a!copy!of!the!original!
complaint!as!an!exhibit!to!his!third-party!complaint!served!on!the!third!party.!
!
! The!departures!from!the!federal!rule!are!as!follows:!(1)!the!federal!rule!
allows! a! third-party! claim! only! upon! motion! of! the! defendant*;! (2)! the!
sentence! in! Rule! 14(a)! about! severance,! separate! trial,! or! dismissal! of! the!
third-party! claim! is! not! in! the! federal! rule;
*
! (3)! the! federal! rule! does! not!
contain! the! requirement! that! the! failure! of! the! plaintiff! to! assert! a! claim!
against! the! third-party! defendant! shall! have! the! effect! of! failure! to! assert! a!
counterclaim! mad e! compulsory! by! Rule! 13(a);! (4)! there! is! nothing!
comparable!to!Rule!14(c)!in!the!federal!rule.!
!
! The!first!two!of!these!departures!are!taken!from!an!unadopted!proposal!
of!the!federal!A dvisory!Com mittee!in!1955.!!The!requirement!of!seeking!leav e!
of!court!to!serve!a!third-party!complaint!accomplished!little,!for!the!court!had!
to!pass!u pon!it!before!the!third-party!defendant!had!answered,!and!thus!at!a!
time!w hen!it!was!hard!to!appraise!the!c omplicatio ns!of!bringing!in!the!third!
*
[Field, McKusick & Wroth commented: “F.R. 14(a) was amended, effective July 1, 1963, to
require leave of court only if the impleader is filed more than 10 days after answer and to
incorporate language substantially similar to the severance provision of the Maine rule.” 1 Field,
McKusick & Wroth, Maine Civil Practice at 287 (2d ed. 1970).
party.!!This!does!not!remove!the!discretion!of!the!court!as!to!allowance!of!the!
impleader.!!That,!discretion!is!to!be!exercised!on!motion!after!the!third!party!
has!been!brought! into!the!case.! !The!sec ond!departure!from!the!federal!rule!
emphasizes!the!existence!of!this!discretion.!!It!seems!particularly!desirable!in!
Maine!not!to!require!a!judicial!ruling!on!the!propriety!of!a n!impleader!u nless!
someone! objects! to! it.! ! Since! there! are,! in! many! of! the! counties,! protracted!
periods! when! no! judge! is! readily! available,! it!appears!desirable!to! reduce! so!
far!as!practicable!the!necessity!of!trips!to !court.!
!
! The! thir d! change! from! the! federal! rule! has! to! do ! with! compulsory!
counterclaims!in!third-party!practice.!! A!plaintiff!may!u nder!the!f ederal!rule!
assert! his! own! claim! against! the! third-party! defendant! if! he! chooses,! or! he!
may!await!the!outcome!of!the!initial!suit!and!then!bring!a!new!action!against!
the! third-party! defendant.! ! It! seems! an! unfair! burden! upon! the! latter! not! to!
require! the! plaintiff! to! clean! up! in! a! single! action! the! entire! controversy!
arising!out!of!a!single!transaction!or!occurrence.!
!
! The! purpose! of! Rule! 1 4(c)! is! to! r eemphasize! that! the! court! should!
exercise! its! discretion! as! to! third-party! claims! with! due! reg ard! for! the!
protection!of!the!parties!and!the!prevention!of!delay.!!It!is!taken!from!a!1959!
amendment!to!the!Minnesota!rules.!
!
!
!
