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Effective April 18, 2026, the New York Legislature enacted the Avoiding Vexatious Overuse of Impleading to Delay ("AVOID") Act, amending CPLR 1007—the statute that governs third-party practice. The amendment sharply limits when and how defendants can commence third-party actions, curbing the expansive discretion they previously enjoyed and targeting the late-stage impleaders that often upend case schedules.
What Changes
Before the AVOID Act was signed into law on December 19, 2025 (and subsequently modified by Chapter Amendments A9502 and S8809, signed by Governor Hochul on February 13, 2026[1]), CPLR 1007 gave defendants broad latitude to implead "any person who is or may be liable" for all or part of the plaintiff's claim. CPLR 1007 specified no outside time limit for the initiation of a third-party claim; courts assessed only whether a defendant's delay was undue—such as impleading months after the note of issue—and whether the plaintiff would suffer prejudice if the third-party action were not severed.
The AVOID Act replaces this open-ended approach with firm time limits and greater judicial oversight. Defendants must now file third-party summonses and complaints within ninety (90) days of serving their answer and any third-party action filed outside of this 90-day timeframe requires a court order. No third-party summonses and complaints may be filed after the filing of the note of issue, unless upon good cause shown or in the interest of justice.
There are particular requirements for a third-party summons and complaint against an employer of the plaintiff. For example, a defendant or third-party defendant may file a third-party summons and complaint against an employer of the plaintiff without an order of the court within ninety (90) days after the later of (1) the date the identity of the employer of the plaintiff becomes known to the defendant or third-party defendant, or (2) the date the defendant or third-party defendant knows or should know the plaintiff sustained a grave injury, as such term is defined in section eleven (11) of the workers' compensation law.
The AVOID Act also curtails consolidation of multiple cases. 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 will not be permitted.
Collectively, these changes transform CPLR 1007 from a permissive framework into one governed by tighter deadlines and heightened judicial control, significantly restricting the once-generous flexibility of impleader practice in New York.
What This Means for Litigants
The practical consequences are significant. For example, defendants must investigate their potential third-party claims much earlier than usually. This includes more thorough contract review, tender analysis, assessment of insurance obligations, and identification of potentially responsible parties, which can no longer wait for discovery to develop potentially relevant and critical factual information.
Additionally, litigants can likely expect more motion practice. The new leave-of-court requirement beyond the 90-day timeframe could generate contested motions, good-cause disputes, and heightened scrutiny of litigation timelines.
Plaintiffs may experience some potential leverage with the shorter timeline for impleader. For example, the effort to eliminate later impleader may reduce late-stage schedule disruption, providing plaintiffs with a bit more control and predictability over the timing of trial.
For defendants seeking to implead, the costs of missing the impleader window have gone up. For example, defendants who fail to implead within the AVOID Act's windows now may need to commence separate plenary actions to seek relief from a third-party, proactively negotiate tolling agreements earlier than anticipated, and/or more heavily rely on contractual tender and indemnification obligations to ensure any rights are not waived. It will be interesting to see how defendants adapt to missing the impleader window.
What to Do Now
Even before the amendment takes effect, counsel should consider taking a few steps to ensure (1) timely filing of third-party actions and/or (2) preservation of rights with respect to any third-party complaints. This may include building an impleader analysis into initial case intake, though it could prove impossible in some instances to truly identify every potential third-party at such an early stage of litigation. That said, counsel should make every effort to assist clients in the identification of all potentially responsible third parties at the outset, particularly in construction, products liability, design professional, and software cases. Finally, attorneys must now be incredibly diligent and mindful of the calendar implications caused by the changes to CPLR 1007.
The changes to CPLR 1007 suggest a broader policy direction toward earlier case organization and more structured third-party practice, as well as an effort towards efficient and shortened litigation timelines. The amendment places a premium on early diligence and make late impleader more difficult to obtain. In sum, defendants would be well served by treating third-party practice as a front-end priority rather than a question to revisit as the case develops.
Footnote
1 An earlier version of this article omitted reference to the February 13, 2026 Chapter Amendments, which further modified the time limits for commencement of third-party actions originally set forth in CPLR 1007 and the December 19, 2025 version of the AVOID Act.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
