Senate Bill S563

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S563

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the civil practice law and rules, in
relation to permitting a plaintiff to recover against a third party
defendant in certain cases

 PURPOSE :  This bill would add a new Section 1405 to the Civil
Practice Law and Rules (CPLR) to expressly permit a plaintiff, as
judgment creditor against defendant, to recover and collect an
unsatisfied judgment or portion of a judgment directly against a
third-party defendant found liable for contribution or
indemnification.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1: Adds anew Section 1405 to the CPLR to permit a plaintiff to
recover and collect an unsatisfied judgment or a portion of a judgment
against a third-party defendant or co-defendant, when a plaintiff has
entered judgment against a defendant which is unsatisfied thirty days
after service on the defendant-judgment debtor, and where judgment has
been entered in favor of the defendant-judgment debtor against a
co-defendant or third-party defendant on a cause of action for
contribution or indemnification.  Under certain circumstances where
the plaintiffs judgment remains unsatisfied thirty days after it has
been served on the defendant-judgment debtor, and where the
defendant-judgment debtor has a cause of action for contribution or
              

indemnification which has not been reduced to judgment, then the
plaintiff-judgment creditor may attach, or take an assignment from the
defendant-judgment debtor of the cause of action for contribution or
indemnification and prosecute the action in the plaintiffs own name or
in the name of the defendant-judgment debtor. Direct recovery,
however, is not authorized against a third-party defendant in those
circumstances in which the third-party claim would have been barred by
Section 11 of the Workers Compensation Law.

Section 2: The effective date for this Act is immediately, and shall
apply to all judgments entered by plaintiffs on or after such date.

 EXISTING LAW :

Section 1401 of the CPLR provides, with certain exceptions under the
General Obligations Law and the Workers' Compensation Law, that two or
more persons who are subject to liability for damages for the same
personal injury, injury to property or wrongful death, may claim
contribution among them whether or not an action has been brought or a
judgment has been rendered against the person from whom contribution
is sought. Section 1403 of the CPLR provides that a cause of action
for contribution may be asserted in a separate action or by
cross-claim, counter-claim or third-party claim in a pending action.

 JUSTIFICATION :  A plaintiffs recovery on a judgment that ultimately
comes from a third-party defendant should not depend on the fortuity
of the solvency of the defendant/third party plaintiff. Accordingly,
this measure would allow a plaintiff to recover on a judgment for
contribution or indemnification directly against the third-party
defendant, whether or not the defendant/third-party plaintiff has
satisfied the underlying judgment for which contribution or
indemnification is sought. Thus, in the case where a
defendant/third-party plaintiff is insolvent and is unable to pay the
judgment to the plaintiff: the plaintiff could still seek to recover
directly that portion of the judgment, as determined by the principles
of contribution and indemnification, owed by the third-party defendant
to the defendant/third-party plaintiff. This measure would not alter
in any way the substantive law of Workers' Compensation. The 1996
Omnibus Worker's Compensation Reform Act already limits claims for
contribution and indemnification against an employer to only those
cases involving "grave injuries." In cases where there are not grave
injuries the employer is not liable as a matter of substantive law,
and therefore this measure would not affect such employers at all.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :  2013-2014 - S.555A/A.1002A; 2011-2012
S.3761/A.630; 2009-2010 S.2392/A.2576; 2007-2008 S.2065/A.6310;
2005-2006 S.7487/A.11076; 2003-04 S.5006/A.7493;

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS : None

 EFFECTIVE DATE :  This act will take effect immediately and shall
apply to all judgments entered by plaintiffs on or after such date.