Which term describes a party brought into the action by a defendant who asserts that the other party is responsible to pay the damages?

• A. Plaintiff
• B. Third party defendant
• C. Judge
• D. Voir dire

Answer: (B)

In civil procedure, a defendant can use third-party practice to bring in another person who may be responsible to pay damages. The party added in this way is the third-party defendant. This device lets the defendant shift or share liability by showing that someone else—the third-party defendant—should ultimately bear the costs claimed by the plaintiff, either to the defendant or to the plaintiff. For example, if A sues B for damages from an incident, B can bring in C as a third-party defendant, alleging C caused the injury and should pay. This distinguishes from the plaintiff (the party who starts the suit), the judge (the decision-maker), and voir dire (jury selection).