First American May Not Assert New Counterclaim Against Non-Party, Fla. Federal Judge Rules

TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida judge has denied First American Title Insurance Co.’s motion to assert a new counterclaim against a non-party to a reinsurance action, explaining that the court may only join additional parties in order to adjudicate a counterclaim that already is before the court or one that is being asserted at the same time the addition of a nonparty is sought.

In a March 25 order, Judge James S. Moody Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida noted that a counterclaim may not be directed solely against parties who are not …