Court Dismisses Third-Party Claim Seeking a Declaratory Judgment

On July 30, 2018, Justice Scarpulla of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in Kai Chan v. Lipiner, 2018 NY Slip Op. 31817(U), dismissing a third-party claim seeking a declaratory judgment, explaining:

I also grant the Chan Family's motion to dismiss the third-party complaint. CPLR 1007 permits third-party practice only against a person not a party who is or may be liable to that defendant for all or part of the plaintiffs claim against that defendant. Here, Thor's third-party complaint seeks a declaratory judgment to eject and evict the Chan Family from the Building, which is improper under CPLR 1007.

(Internal quotations and citations omitted).

This decision is about a defendant bringing claims against a third-party. Contact Schlam Stone & Dolan partner John Lundin at jlundin@schlamstone.com if you or a client face a situation where you are unsure how to enforce rights you believe you have against another party when you are a defendant in a lawsuit.