Vouching-In

A procedural device used in common law by which a defendant notifies another, not presently a party to a lawsuit, that if a plaintiff is successful, the defendant will seek indemnity from that individual.

The notice that an individual, the vouchee, receives as a result of vouching-in constitutes an offer for him or her to defend in the action against the defendant. If the vouchee refuses to do so, he or she will be bound in any later actions between the plaintiff and the defendant involving factual determinations necessary to the original judgment.

Although vouching-in has been largely replaced by third-party practice, called IMPLEADER, under Rule 14 of the Federal Rules of CIVIL PROCEDURE, it has not been abolished.