The moving defendant sought an extension of time to serve a third party claim arising from a motor vehicle accident after discovering that the pleading, though issued in time, had never been served due to inadvertence.
The court held that the applicable inquiry was whether the proposed third party would suffer prejudice from the delay, and found none because the proposed third party's counsel had long been involved in related actions, discoveries, and mediation arising from the same accident.
The court therefore extended the time for service.
Costs were awarded to the moving party on a partial indemnity basis, not substantial indemnity, because the motion arose from the moving party's own error.
