Missed impleader deadlines will permanently shift liability onto your firm — with no second chances. Is your insurance program and contract structure ready?
Get a Free ConsultationThe AVOID Act (Avoiding Vexatious Overuse of Impleading to Delay Act), signed into law December 2025 and effective April 18, 2026, fundamentally rewrites the rules for how New York construction defendants can bring third parties into lawsuits.
Once you serve your answer, you have 60 days to file third-party claims based on contract (indemnity, contribution). Miss it, and those claims are permanently barred in that action.
Once the plaintiff files a Note of Issue, no impleader is permitted at all — regardless of when you learned of a subcontractor's liability.
Missing deadlines doesn't just mean a procedural loss — it means your firm absorbs costs you previously could have recovered through indemnity. Early reserve adjustments are now critical.
The bottom line: The AVOID Act forces general contractors to make comprehensive liability assessments, insurance investigations, and impleader decisions within days of receiving a complaint — not months. Firms without the right insurance program and contract structure in place will be caught flat-footed.
We work with New York general contractors and construction firms to audit their insurance programs, tighten their subcontractor agreements, and build the operational workflows needed to meet the AVOID Act's unforgiving timelines.
We audit your current GL policy, umbrella, and excess coverage to identify gaps that the AVOID Act's accelerated timeline will expose. We ensure your subcontractors' Additional Insured endorsements, Primary & Non-Contributory clauses, and Waiver of Subrogation language are enforceable and current.
We review indemnification provisions, insurance requirements, and retainage clauses in your subcontracts against the new AVOID Act environment. Weak contract language will cost you leverage the moment a complaint is filed.
We help you build the project documentation systems and internal workflows to identify all potentially liable parties immediately upon receiving a complaint — so your attorneys can file third-party actions within the AVOID Act's 60-day window.
As courts begin interpreting the AVOID Act's ambiguous "becoming aware" standard and new case law develops, we keep you updated on what it means for your active projects and litigation posture.
Managing multiple subcontractors on Labor Law §240/241 exposed job sites across New York.
Overseeing complex projects where impleader chains involve dozens of trades and vendors.
With ongoing construction who face co-defendant liability under New York's strict Scaffold Law.
Who are regularly named as third-party defendants and need to understand their new exposure under the AVOID Act.
April 18, 2026 is approaching fast. Tell us about your firm and we'll reach out to schedule a no-obligation consultation to assess your exposure and what steps to take now.
A plain-English overview of what's changing and what your firm needs to do before the deadline.
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Every deadline the AVOID Act creates, what triggers each clock, and what happens if you miss one.
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The 10 contract provisions every NY general contractor needs to review before April 18, 2026.
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The most common insurance program gaps that become catastrophic under the AVOID Act's compressed timeline.
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