 For example, if a plaintiff sues a homeowner for damages caused by a garage door, the defendant homeowner could add a third party, the manufacturer of the garage door to contribute to any damages awarded to the plaintiff according to the proportionate share of responsibility, liability, or fault assigned to the homeowner and the manufacturer by the jury.In most cases, contribution claims are brought like the original lawsuit itself.The claim must be personally served on the new, third party defendant, by the third party plaintiff (the defendant bringing the claim for contribution relief).