Key Takeaways:

• Single, Accelerated Deadline: The amendment does away with the confusing system of cascading deadlines and replaces it with a single 90-day deadline.

• Return to Judicial Discretion: Post 90-day impleader now requires court order; post note-of-issue impleader allowed “upon good cause or in the interest of justice.”

• Limited Exceptions Remain: Narrow carve-out for employer liability; impleader allowed without court order within 90 days of identifying the employer or learning of a grave injury.

• Strategic Impact: Early investigation and rapid indemnity decisions will remain essential; carriers must implement expedited review protocols and integrate this new statutory timeline into claims systems to ensure timely filing of third-party actions.

In December 2025, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law S.8071‑A, known as the “Avoiding Vexatious Overuse of Impleading to Delay (AVOID) Act.” This law amends CPLR §1007 to establish strict time limits for impleading third‑party defendants in civil actions. The purpose of the law is to prevent strategic delays in litigation by ensuring impleaders occur early in civil proceedings. In a welcome amendment, and after criticism of the confusing system of cascading time deadlines set by the AVOID Act, the Legislature amended the act, and on February 13, 2026, Gov. Hochul signed S.8809.

This amendment does away with the 60-, 45-, 30-, 20-day deadline and replaces it with a single 90-day deadline for filing a third-party complaint. As amended, the AVOID Act now mandates that a third-party summons and complaint cannot be filed more than 90 days after serving an answer “without any order of the court.” Additionally, the amendment changes post note-of-issue impleader practice by mandating that no third-party summons and complaint may be filed after the note-of-issue “unless upon good cause shown or in the interest of justice.”

The amendment leaves the exception for third-party practice against the plaintiff’s employer. The AVOID Act now states that a third-party summons and complaint may be filed against the plaintiff’s employer “without an order of the court” within 90 days of: (1) learning the identity of the plaintiff’s employer; or (2) the date the defendant knew or should have known the plaintiff suffered a grave injury.

Additionally, the amended AVOID Act continues to prohibit consolidation of severed third-party actions and clarifies that the Act only applies to cases filed on or after April 18, 2026.

The amended AVOID Act keeps in place a significantly tightened time deadline for third-party practice, although the amendment does simplify the process by introducing a single deadline instead of a sliding scale of deadlines that changes with each third-party complaint. In a welcome change, the amendment also brings some level of judicial discretion back into third-party practice, as post deadline impleader is allowed with a court order and post note-of-issue impleader is allowed where good cause can be shown and it is in the interest of the justice.

We continue to recommend early investigation to identify all potentially liable parties and establish expedited approval processes for indemnity and third-party impleader decisions.  Additionally, it is crucial to integrate this new statutory deadline into the claims management systems, train claims teams to ensure timely compliance, and audit active cases now for potential impleaders. Prompt communication and coordination between defense counsel, primary carriers, and excess carriers remains essential to navigating the anticipated legal challenges introduced by the AVOID Act, even with this new amendment. We can assist by providing timeline trackers, exposure assessments, and drafting extension motions where appropriate. For further guidance please contact:

• Joseph A. Oliva
• Emilio F. Grillo
• Jessica M. Erickson
• Ryan C. Mahoney
• Petra A. Holness
• Gabrielle M. Breen
• Or another member of the Construction Litigation and Counsel or Civil Litigation and Trial practice groups