Third-party Complaint
(IL)

Summary

This template is a third-party complaint you may use to commence a new Illinois circuit court civil case against a nonparty to an existing case. The template includes practical guidance, drafting notes, and alternate clauses. A defendant to a lawsuit may file a complaint against any third party not currently named in the litigation who may be liable to the defendant for some or all of the plaintiff's claim. See 735 ILCS 5/2-406(a). The most common substantive claims raised in a third-party complaint are contribution and indemnification. A party against whom a counterclaim is filed (typically the original plaintiff, in its capacity as a counter-defendant) may also file a third-party complaint. See 735 ILCS 5/2-406(a). The party filing the complaint is known as a third-party plaintiff, and the nonparty named in the third-party complaint is known as a third-party defendant. See 735 ILCS 5/2-406(b). A defendant seeking to bring an action against a third party must file a third-party complaint before the defendant's answer deadline expires. See 735 ILCS 5/2-406(a). A defendant who does not file a third-party complaint before its answer deadline must obtain leave of court to file the complaint. See 735 ILCS 5/2-406(b); Harshman v. DePhillips, 218 Ill. 2d 482, 503 (2006). The circuit court has discretion to grant or deny a defendant's request for leave to file a third-party complaint after the answer deadline has passed. See Harshman, 218 Ill. 2d at 503. You may not: • Use a third-party complaint to bring an independent claim against a third party, even if the claim arises out of the same set of facts as the plaintiff's complaint. See Brockman, 143 Ill. 2d at 364–65. • File a proper third-party complaint (such as one for contribution or indemnity) and then seek to amend it to bring other, unrelated claims. See Ketcham v. Consol. Rail Corp., 146 Ill. App. 3d 196, 201 (1st Dist. 1986). Beyond that, third-party complaints must follow the same rules as garden-variety complaints. Every complaint must include: • A caption (see Ill. Sup. Ct. R. 131(b)) • A title with the words "at law," "in chancery," "in probate," "small claim," or other designation conforming to the organization of the circuit court into divisions (see Ill. Sup. Ct. R. 132) • A plain and concise statement of the pleader's cause of action (see 735 ILCS 5/2-603) • For each count, a specific prayer for relief (see 735 ILCS 5/2-604.2(a)) • The plaintiff's attorney's signature (or the plaintiff's signature, if the plaintiff is unrepresented) (see Ill. Sup. Ct. R. 137) Insert into this template as necessary the factual and legal allegations supporting your claims. At a minimum, the complaint should allege "a plain and concise statement of the pleader's cause of action." See 735 ILCS 5/2-603. Illinois is a fact pleading jurisdiction, unlike federal court (which permits notice pleading). Fact pleading requires a party to allege the basic facts upon which its cause of action is based. It does not, however, require the party to identify the evidence on which it intends to rely—simply the facts it intends to prove. Refer to the applicable statutes, rules, and case law governing your causes of action for more specific pleading requirements. Note that certain legal claims must be pled with greater particularity than others (e.g., fraud). When a plaintiff raises multiple causes of action in one complaint, it must state each cause of action separately, in independent counts. 735 ILCS 5/2-603(b). Divide each count into numbered paragraphs, each with a separate allegation. 735 ILCS 5/2-603(b). A party may incorporate allegations made in a prior count into a new, subsequent count; you need not repeat allegations. Ill. Sup. Ct. R. 134. You may bring as many claims as you wish against a defendant, and the counts need not be consistent with one another—they may be contradictory or pled in the alternative. If claims are contradictory, such as with breach of contract and unjust enrichment, be sure not to incorporate inconsistent allegations from one count into another (e.g., incorporating allegations of the existence of a contract into an unjust enrichment count). Beyond these basic requirements, the rules do not specify a required format or structure. In drafting the complaint, though, remember that this document frames the legal and factual issues that will govern discovery, pretrial motions, and the elements you must prove at trial. Moreover, the complaint provides the first opportunity to introduce the plaintiff's claims to the court and opposing parties. So the complaint should not only be clear, accurate, and legally and technically sufficient, but it should also tell the plaintiff's story in a compelling way and justify the plaintiff's claims. For related templates, see Appearance (IL), Reply to Affirmative Defenses (IL), and Third-party Complaint (IL). For related practice notes, see Commencing a Lawsuit: Initial Considerations (IL), Commencing a Lawsuit: Drafting and Filing the Complaint (IL), and Commencing a Lawsuit: Serving Process (IL). For related checklists, see Commencing a Lawsuit: Initial Considerations Checklist (IL), Commencing a Lawsuit: Drafting and Filing the Complaint Checklist (IL), Demanding a Jury Trial Checklist (IL), and Commencing a Lawsuit: Serving Process Checklist (IL). For treatise content on third-party complaints, see Illinois Civil Procedure §§ 12.08, 12.09.