Pivarnik v. Northern Indiana Public Service Co.

ON PETITION TO TRANSFER

SULLIVAN, Justice.

This case arises out of a misunderstanding of Indiana Trial Rule 14 and third-party practice generally under the Indiana Trial Rules. 1 We write in order to aid the courts and practitioners in their efforts to understand and apply the Rules in accord with the language of the Rules themselves and with the policies that the Rules are designed to promote.

Facts

While digging a pond in August of 1991, a bulldozer owned by G.V.K. Corporation (GVK) struck a natural gas pipeline belonging to Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO). There was an…