The state Supreme Court has ruled that a third-party defendant in a medical malpractice suit  facing contribution and common-law indemnification claims made by a defendant—even one lacking an affidavit of merit—must participate in the underlying liability trial.

The court’s unanimous ruling Monday stems from plaintiff Samuel Mejia’s lawsuit against Quest Diagnostics and Dr. Simon Santos for allegedly failing to detect his late wife Tania’s cervical cancer. Quest, in turn, filed a third-party complaint against Tania’s doctor, Dr. Jacinto Fernandez.