Third-Party Claims

If you believe that another person, company, or organization (called the “third-party”) is partly responsible for the claim being made against you, you can file a third-party claim under Rule 3-5. For example, if you are a dry cleaner and you’re being sued for ruining a customer’s expensive suit, you might want to file a third-party claim against the manufacturer of the dry-cleaning machine, alleging that the machine was defective.

A third-party claim must be filed in Form 5 within 42 days after being served with the notice of civil claim or a counterclaim. After that, it can only be filed with leave (permission) of court, which can be obtained by filing an application. For more information on bringing applications to Court, see Chambers Applications.