Enacts the avoiding vexatious overuse of impleading to delay (AVOID) act, the official text

S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  8071--A
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 15, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. ADDABBO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Judiciary  --  committee
   discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
   to said committee
 
 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:
 
   Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as  the  "avoiding
 vexatious overuse of impleading to delay (AVOID) act".
   §  2.  Section 1007 of the civil practice law and rules, as amended by
 chapter 216 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows:
   § 1007. When third-party practice allowed. (A) After  the  service  of
 [his]  A  DEFENDANT'S  answer,  [a]  THE defendant may proceed against a
 person OR LEGAL ENTITY not a party who is  or  may  be  liable  to  that
 defendant  for all or part of the plaintiff's claim against that defend-
 ant, by filing pursuant to section three hundred four of this chapter  a
 third-party  summons  and  complaint  with the clerk of the court in the
 county in which the main action is pending, for which a  separate  index
 number  shall  not  be  issued  but a separate index number fee shall be
 collected. The third-party summons and complaint and all prior pleadings
 served in the action shall be served upon such person  OR  LEGAL  ENTITY
 within  [one  hundred] twenty days of the filing.  A defendant serving a
 third-party complaint shall be styled a third-party  plaintiff  and  the
 person  OR  LEGAL ENTITY so served shall be styled a third-party defend-
 ant. The defendant shall also serve a copy of such third-party complaint
 upon the plaintiff's attorney simultaneously upon issuance  for  service
 of the third-party complaint on the third-party defendant.
   (B)  1.  A  DEFENDANT  SHALL  PROCEED WITH THE FILING AND SERVING OF A
 THIRD-PARTY SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT AGAINST A PERSON OR LEGAL  ENTITY  WHO
 IS OR MAY BE LIABLE TO THAT DEFENDANT FOR ALL OR PART OF THE PLAINTIFF'S
 CLAIM  AGAINST  THAT DEFENDANT WITHIN SIXTY DAYS AFTER SERVING AN ANSWER
 UPON THE PLAINTIFF IN THE  EVENT  THAT  SUCH  LIABILITY  ARISES  FROM  A
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD13132-02-5
 S. 8071--A                          2
 
 CONTRACTUAL  RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE DEFENDANT AND SUCH PERSON OR ENTI-
 TY, OR OTHERWISE WITHIN SIXTY DAYS OF BECOMING AWARE THAT SUCH PERSON IS
 OR MAY BE LIABLE TO THE DEFENDANT FOR  ALL  OR  PART  OF  A  PLAINTIFF'S
 CLAIM.
   2.  A  THIRD-PARTY  DEFENDANT  WHO PROCEEDS WITH THE FILING OF ITS OWN
 THIRD-PARTY SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT, BECOMING IN EFFECT  A  SECOND  THIRD-
 PARTY  PLAINTIFF,  SHALL  PROCEED  WITH  THE  FILING AND SERVING OF SUCH
 SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT AGAINST A  SECOND  THIRD-PARTY  DEFENDANT,  WITHIN
 FORTY-FIVE DAYS AFTER SERVING AN ANSWER.
   3. A SECOND THIRD-PARTY DEFENDANT WHO THEN PROCEEDS WITH THE FILING OF
 ITS  OWN  THIRD-PARTY  SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT, BECOMING IN EFFECT A THIRD
 THIRD-PARTY PLAINTIFF, SHALL PROCEED WITH THE FILING AND SERVING OF SUCH
 SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT AGAINST A THIRD THIRD-PARTY DEFENDANT WITHIN THIR-
 TY DAYS AFTER SERVING AN ANSWER.
   4. ANY SUBSEQUENT THIRD-PARTY DEFENDANT, WHO PROCEEDS WITH THE  FILING
 OF  ITS  OWN  THIRD-PARTY  SUMMONS  AND COMPLAINT, BECOMING IN EFFECT AN
 ADDITIONAL THIRD-PARTY PLAINTIFF, SHALL PROCEED WITH THE FILING OF  SUCH
 SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT AGAINST AN ADDITIONAL THIRD-PARTY DEFENDANT WITHIN
 TWENTY DAYS AFTER SERVING AN ANSWER.
   5.  THERE SHALL BE NO EXTENSIONS OF THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH IN THIS
 SUBDIVISION LONGER THAN THIRTY DAYS  WITHOUT  AN  ORDER  OF  THE  COURT,
 PROVIDED  THAT A DEFENDANT OR THIRD-PARTY DEFENDANT MAY NOT PROCEED WITH
 THE FILING AND SERVING A THIRD-PARTY SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT TWELVE MONTHS
 AFTER HAVING FILED AN ANSWER IN THE ACTION WITHOUT  WRITTEN  CONSENT  OF
 BOTH THE PLAINTIFF AND THE COURT.
   (C)  NOTWITHSTANDING  SUBDIVISION  (B) OF THIS SECTION, A DEFENDANT OR
 THIRD-PARTY DEFENDANT MAY NOT PROCEED WITH THE FILING OF  A  THIRD-PARTY
 SUMMONS  AND  COMPLAINT  AFTER  THE FILING OF A NOTE OF ISSUE. AN ACTION
 FILED IN VIOLATION OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL  BE  SEVERED  OR  DISMISSED
 WITHOUT PREJUDICE.
   (D)  THE  TIME  PERIODS  SET FORTH IN SUBDIVISIONS (B) AND (C) OF THIS
 SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY WHEN A DEFENDANT OR THIRD-PARTY DEFENDANT  SEEKS
 TO  FILE AND PROCEED WITH A THIRD-PARTY SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT AGAINST AN
 EMPLOYER OF THE PLAINTIFF IN THE EVENT THAT EITHER: 1. THE DEFENDANT  OR
 THIRD-PARTY  DEFENDANT  IS SEEKING CONTRIBUTION OR INDEMNIFICATION FOR A
 GRAVE INJURY AS SUCH TERM IN DEFINED IN SECTION ELEVEN OF  THE  WORKERS'
 COMPENSATION LAW, OR 2. THE IDENTITY OF SUCH EMPLOYER HAD NOT BEEN KNOWN
 TO  THE DEFENDANT OR THIRD-PARTY DEFENDANT OR OTHERWISE IDENTIFIED UNTIL
 THE SUCH TIME PERIODS HAVE EXPIRED. IN EITHER INSTANCE, THE DEFENDANT OR
 THIRD-PARTY DEFENDANT SHALL PROCEED WITH THE FILING  AND  SERVING  OF  A
 SUMMONS  AND COMPLAINT WITHIN ONE HUNDRED TWENTY DAYS AFTER THE LATER OF
 EITHER EVENT. AN ACTION IN VIOLATION OF THIS SUBDIVISION  SHALL  NOT  BE
 ALLOWED TO PROCEED WITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT OF BOTH THE PLAINTIFF AND THE
 COURT.
   (E)  IN  THE  EVENT  A  THIRD-PARTY ACTION IS SEVERED FROM THE INITIAL
 ACTION, AND A THIRD-PARTY PLAINTIFF PROCEEDS TO INITIATE A NEW ACTION BY
 THE FILING OF A SUMMONS AND  COMPLAINT  AGAINST  A  SEVERED  THIRD-PARTY
 DEFENDANT,  ANY  MOTION TO CONSOLIDATE SUCH ACTIONS SHALL NOT BE PERMIT-
 TED.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
 it shall have become a law and shall apply to cases pending on or  after
 such date; provided, however, this act shall not apply to any third-par-
 ty summons and complaint filed and served prior to the effective date of
 this act.