§14.7 Significant Authorities

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§14.7SIGNIFICANT AUTHORITIES

This section sets forth Washington authorities only, although Washington case law addressing CR 14 is relatively limited. In federal courts, there are complex issues of ancillary, pendent, and supplemental jurisdiction unique to federal diversity practice that are not part of state court practice.

(1)Purpose of the rule

CR 14(a) "affords a means of bringing in a third party who may be liable to the defendant by way of indemnity, subrogation, contribution and warranty, as well as in other situations. This rule is consistent with the case law in [Washington] in regard to the right of a third party to indemnity from a wrongdoer who is guilty of primary negligence." Deutsch v. W. Coast Mach. Co., 80 Wn.2d 707, 718, 497 P.2d 1311, cert, denied sub nom. Kansai Iron Works, Ltd. v. Marubeni-Iida, Inc., 409 U.S. 1009 (1972).

The policy behind CR 14(a) is "to avoid delay and needless multiplicity of actions." The rule should be liberally construed, but should not be used to change the cause of action asserted, "or to substitute another cause of action for it, so as to require plaintiff, against his will, to litigate against third-party defendants an alleged tort liability which plaintiff has not asserted in his complaint." A defendant "cannot compel the plaintiff, who has sued him, to sue also a third party whom he does not wish to sue." Brown v. Spokane Cnty. Fire Prot. Dist. No. 1, 21 Wn.App. 886,891-92,586 P.2d 1207 (1978) (quotingBaltimore & OhioR.R. Co. v. Saunders, 159 F.2d 481, 484 (4th Cir. 1947)).

(2)Claims against third parties

A defendant may not implead a third-party defendant for a claim by the plaintiff directly against the third-party defendant unless the third-party defendant has some liability to the defendant/third-party plaintiff. Brown, 21 Wn.App. at 893. In Brown, the court held that the potential third-party defendant should not be impleaded under CR 14 because it and the third-party plaintiff might be concurrent tortfeasors and there was no right to indemnity or contribution among the two. Id.

A defendant may pass on to third parties the claim asserted against the defendant, in whole or in part, but the defendant cannot assert an entirely independent and separate claim against the third party. The third-party claim is also limited to the amount of the claim of the plaintiff against the defendant. Reed v. Davis, 65 Wn.2d 700, 708, 399 P.2d 338 (1965).

(3)Trial court discretion

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