Williams v. Miller

McGHEE, Chief Justice,

In addition to the worries we have in common with other citizens over worldwide and everyday affairs, we have here a very troublesome question arising from our Rule 14(a), commonly known as the third-party defendant rule, which, so far as counsel for the parties and our independent research has disclosed, has not beset any other appellate court.

A fire following an explosion of gas carried in a line of the Southern Union Gas Company destroyed a building, stock of goods and fixtures belonging to the plaintiffs (residents of New Mexico), who sued the gas company (a Delaware…