Enacts the "avoiding vexatious overuse of impleading to delay (AVOID) act" which relates to time frames for certain court filings.
Summary
A08728 enacts the “Avoiding Vexatious Overuse of Impleading to Delay (AVOID) Act,” amending New York’s Civil Practice Law and Rules section 1007 to tighten and speed up third-party practice in civil litigation. The bill shortens the time for a defendant to file and serve a third-party summons and complaint, generally requiring action within 60 days after an answer in contract-based cases or within 60 days of learning of potential liability in other cases. It also creates shorter cascading deadlines for later third-party defendants who seek to implead additional parties, and limits extensions absent a court order.
The bill further bars third-party impleader after a note of issue has been filed, subject to dismissal or severance without prejudice if violated. It includes special exceptions for claims against a plaintiff’s employer involving grave injury under workers’ compensation law or situations where the employer’s identity was not known until after the usual deadlines, while also restricting consolidation of a severed third-party action with the original case. The act would apply to pending cases on or after its effective date, but not to third-party complaints already filed and served before then.
Impact
The bill would amend CPLR 1007 and change the procedural rules governing third-party practice in New York civil cases. Its practical effect is to accelerate impleader deadlines, limit late-added third-party claims, and reduce the ability of defendants to use third-party practice after a case is already at issue, while preserving narrow exceptions for certain workers’ compensation/employer-related claims. Litigants, attorneys, and courts handling contribution, indemnification, and third-party liability disputes would be directly affected.
Sentiment
The available voting history shows strong support in committee, with unanimous favorable votes in both the Assembly Ways and Means Committee and the Assembly Rules Committee. The bill’s framing as an anti-delay measure suggests a generally positive sentiment among supporters who view it as a way to curb procedural abuse and move cases more efficiently. No committee transcript is available, and no recorded opposition appears in the provided materials.
Contention
The main point of contention is likely the balance between preventing delay and preserving defendants’ ability to identify and bring in potentially liable third parties. Critics could argue that the shortened deadlines and the ban on impleader after a note of issue may limit legitimate contribution or indemnification claims, especially in complex cases where liability becomes clear later. The bill’s exceptions for grave-injury workers’ compensation claims and previously unknown employers indicate an effort to address some of those concerns, but the restrictions on late impleader and consolidation remain the central policy tradeoff.
Eliminates from the class A misdemeanor of theft of services, the avoidance of payment for railroad, subway, bus or other public transportation services; allows for community service in lieu of a civil penalty for certain offenders of theft of transit services.