On March 10, 2022, Justice Masley of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in Phillips Auctioneers LLC v. Grosso, 2022 NY Slip Op. 30838(U), disallowing an amendment to add third-party claims that were not based on contribution, indemnity or subrogation, explaining:
The issue here is whether the proposed third parties are liable to that defendant for all or part of the plaintiff’s claim against that defendant. Third-party claims are limited to claims for contribution, indemnity, or subrogation. While it is true that the doctrine of impleader has its roots in strict indemnity, the history and development of impleader and the language of the current statute indicate that the device is no longer wedded to this single theory of recovery. It has long been clear that one of the main purposes of third-party practice is ‘the avoidance of multiplicity and circuity of action, and the determination of the primary liability as well as the ultimate liability in one proceeding, whenever convenient. At the least, the third-party claim must be sufficiently related to the main action to raise the question of whether the third-party defendant may be liable to the third-party plaintiff for the damages for which the latter may be liable to the plaintiff.
While certainly related, the third-party claims lack the claim-over component because the third-party defendants have nothing to do with Phillips’ advance to Grosso.
(Internal quotations and citations omitted) (emphasis added).