For more than 35 years Missouri defendants have been filing third-party claims for contribution against other potentially liable persons or entities not sued directly by the plaintiff. But for 33 of those years defendants have been required to walk a tightrope to state a third-party claim for contribution. Missouri defendants were left in the precarious position of trying to assert contribution claims that were sufficient while not admitting liability to the plaintiff. The Missouri Supreme Court has finally declared that a defendant need not plead its own liability to plaintiff in order to state a claim for contribution.