NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1969 SESSION

CHAPTER 810

HOUSE BILL 897

AN ACT TO ALLOW COUNTERCLAIM IN A SUIT ON A SEALED CONTRACT AND TO PROVIDE FOR ADDITIONAL THIRD PARTY DEFENDANTS IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

Section 1.  G.S. Sec. 1-47(2) is hereby amended by adding at the end the following sentences:

"Provided, however, that if action on a sealed instrument is filed, the defendant or defendants in such action may file a counterclaim arising out of the same transaction or transactions as are the subject of plaintiffs claim, although a shorter statute of limitations would otherwise apply to defendant's counterclaim. Such counter- claim may be filed against such parties as provided in G.S. Sec. 1A-1, Rules of Civil Procedure."

Sec. 2.  G.S. Sec. 1A-1, Rule 14(a) is hereby amended by adding a new paragraph at the end as follows:

"Where the normal statute of limitations period in an action arising on a contract is extended as provided in G.S. Sec. 1-47(2) or in any action arising on a contract or promissory note, upon motion of the defendant the court may order to be made parties additional defendants, including any party of whom the plaintiff is a subrogee, assignee, third party beneficiary, endorsee, agent or transferee, or such other person as has received the benefit of the contract by transfer of interest."

It is the purpose of this Section to insure that if a suit may be maintained on a contract against one contracting party, the other contracting party will not be allowed to escape his contractual obligations by the passage of time or the transfer of contract rights.

Sec. 3.  This Act shall be in full force and effect on and after January 1, 1970, and shall apply to actions and proceedings pending on that date as well as to actions and proceedings commenced on or after that date. This Act takes effect on the same date as Chapter 954 of the Session Laws of 1967, entitled An Act to amend the laws relating to Civil Procedure. In the construction of that Act and this Act no significance shall be attached to the fact that this Act was enacted at a later date.

Sec. 4.  All laws and clauses in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 11th day of June, 1969.