Under what condition may a defending party implead a nonparty?

A defending party may implead a nonparty if the nonparty may be liable for part of a judgment. This concept is rooted in the idea of promoting judicial efficiency and ensuring that all parties who may share responsibility for the claim are present in the action.

When a defending party feels that someone else, not currently part of the lawsuit, is actually responsible for all or part of the damages being claimed, they can bring that nonparty into the litigation through impleader. This allows a court to determine the relative liability of all parties involved in a single trial, which helps streamline the legal process and avoids the risk of inconsistent verdicts or multiple lawsuits over the same issue.

In contrast, looking at the other options, merely having "deep pockets" does not justify impleader; financial resources of a nonparty are irrelevant to the question of liability. Being a "material witness" is also not a sufficient basis for impleader, as the rules are focused on liability rather than the role of potential witnesses. Finally, the mere fact that a nonparty has previously been sued does not automatically establish a basis for impleading; what matters is whether that nonparty could be liable for the judgment in the current case. Thus, the focus is always on the potential