In a civil action, the party brought into the action by a defendant who asserts that the third party is responsible to pay the damages is called the

• A. Plaintiff
• B. Jury
• C. Third party
• D. Third party defendant

Answer: (D)

When someone asks another person to answer for damages in a civil action, they’re using a procedure called impleader to bring in a nonparty. The person who is brought into the case to respond and potentially pay damages is the third-party defendant. This label reflects that they are being defended against in a new, separate line of the action—the third-party action—initiated by the original defendant who claims they should not bear the full liability alone. For example, if A sues B, and B believes C was actually at fault, B can bring in C through a third-party complaint; C then becomes the third-party defendant and must respond to that claim, while the original plaintiff continues with the main action.