Judge Williamson of Monroe County Addresses a Novel Issue of Proper Pleading

Which way to plead?

In the case of Windsor-Mount Joy Mut. Ins. Co. as subrogee to the Rights of The Revillas v. Cory Willis Trucking, LLC, No. 006821-CV-2024 (C.P. Monroe Co. Jan. 6, 2026 Williamson, J.), the court addressed a Defendant’s Petition for Leave of Court to File a Third Party Complaint to Join Additional Defendants.

According to the Opinion, this matter involved a bridge collapse allegedly caused by the Defendants while crossing a bridge with a load of stone. The bridge was owned by the Plaintiff insurance company’s insureds and provided access across a creek to the land of the insureds.  The Plaintiff insurance company, as subrogee to the rights of their insureds, brought suit against the Defendants seeking to recoup the damages they paid out for the repair of the bridge.

One issue faced by the court in this regard was the argument by the Plaintiff that the proper method to bring in the insureds as allegedly responsible parties for the damages that were incurred was by way of a counterclaim in the Defendants’ Answer to the Complaint as opposed to the Defendants proceeding by way of a Joinder Complaint to name the insureds as Additional Defendants.

The Plaintiffs in the case were asserting that the insureds, being listed in the caption as being related to the subrogation insurance company Plaintiff, and as otherwise already being involved in the case, could only be subject to a counterclaim and not a Joinder Complaint.

After reviewing the issues, Judge David J. Williamson of the Monroe County Court of Common Pleas found that the insureds were not parties to the suit for purposes of requiring a counterclaim as opposed to a joinder as a third party Defendant. The court noted that the Plaintiff in this matter was the insurance company, which had filed the action as subrogee for the insureds. The court noted that the insurance company’s appearance in the lawsuit did not bring personal jurisdiction of the court over the insureds as parties.

Judge David J. Williamson
Monroe County

Judge Wiliamson noted that subrogation rights confer the right to proceed against someone else, but it does not mean that the subrogee stands in the shoes of the insured for purposes of claims made against the insured. The court noted that it “makes sense” that the insured must be officially joined as an actual party.

The court additionally noted that the parties in this matter had not cited any case law that would support an argument that, as subrogee, the insureds were automatically a party to the action. The court noted that all counsel seemed to be in agreement that this was novel issue.

Judge Williamson otherwise noted that, in the pleadings, the insureds were not named as the actual party Plaintiff and were repeatedly referred to as the Plaintiff’s insureds.  The court also noted that, throughout the Complaint, the Plaintiff insurance company was listed as being a separate and distinct party from its insureds.

The court also noted that the insureds did not sign any verification to the Complaint.

For these reasons, Judge Williamson ruled that the proper procedure was for the insureds to be brought into the case by way of a Third Party Complaint.

In addressing the timeliness of the Third Party Complaint, the court noted that such Joinder Complaints are permitted as course within sixty (60) days of the filing of the original Complaint. Once the sixty (60) day period expired, the court is required to undertake a balancing test.

After reviewing the record in this matter, the court ruled in favor of allowing for the filing of a Joinder Complaint, particularly where there would be no prejudice to the parties by allowing the same.

In terms of any argument with regards to the statute of limitations, Judge Williamson noted that that issue could be raised in the pleadings that would be filed after the filing of the Joinder Complaint.

As such, the court granted the Petition for Leave of Court of File a Joinder Complaint.

Anyone wishing to review a copy of this decision may click this LINK.


Source: The Legal Intelligencer Common Pleas Case Alert, www.Law.com (March 12, 2026).

Source of image:  Photo by Tormius on www.unsplash.com.