TITLE FOUR — PARTIES; JOINDER OF CLAIMS AND REMEDIES; CLASS ACTIONS
Rule 17.2. Misjoinder; Intervention; Interpleader
Misjoinder and Nonjoinder of Parties.
Not a Ground for Dismissal. Misjoinder of parties is not a ground for dismissing an action. On motion or on its own initiative, the court may at any time, upon just terms, add or drop a party.
How an Addition or a Dropping Is Effected. An order adding a party is given effect by the entry of that party upon the docket, which may be made only by the Clerk, a judge, a court administrator, or an attorney in good standing. An order dropping a party is given effect by an entry upon the docket. Dropping a party does not remove that party’s filings from the record and does not alter the filing date, the acceptance, or the Bates number of any filing.
Nonjoinder. The omission of a person who ought to be joined is cured by joinder under Rule 17.1 and is not a ground for dismissal until the court has determined under Rule 17.1(4) that the action cannot in equity and good conscience proceed.
Severance.
Power to Sever. The court may sever any claim against a party and may order that the severed claim proceed separately.
A Severed Claim Proceeds as a New Action. A claim severed for separate disposition shall be commenced as a separate action under Rule 3, and the new action bears its own case number and its own filing date. A case number encodes nothing about the order in which cases were filed, and no order shall purport to give a severed action the case number, the filing date, or the docket entries of the action from which it was severed.
Preservation of Rights. The order of severance shall recite the date of the pleading in which the severed claim was first asserted. For the purpose of any applicable period of limitation, and for that purpose only, the severed claim is treated as asserted on that date, as provided in Rule 16(7)(c).
Intervention of Right. On timely motion, the court shall permit a person to intervene who:
is given an unconditional right to intervene by statute; or
claims an interest relating to the property or transaction that is the subject of the action and is so situated that disposing of the action may, as a practical matter, impair or impede that person’s ability to protect the interest, unless the existing parties adequately represent that interest.
Permissive Intervention.
In General. On timely motion, the court may permit a person to intervene who is given a conditional right to intervene by statute, or who has a claim or defense that shares with the main action a common question of law or fact.
By a Government Officer or Agency. On timely motion, the court may permit an officer or agency of the State, a county, or a municipality to intervene where a party’s claim or defense is based upon a statute, ordinance, regulation, order, requirement, policy, directive, or agreement administered or issued by that officer or agency. Where the validity of an order of an officer or agency is brought into question, the party questioning the validity shall notify the Attorney General as Rule 4 requires.
By the Solicitor General. The Solicitor General may intervene, with the government as a defendant, in a case against a person’s individual capacity where that person was in fact serving in an official capacity, or in a case in which the government has a substantial interest in the outcome, as 7 R. Stat. § 122.007 provides. Upon the filing of a notice of intervention by the Solicitor General the intervention is effective without leave of court, and the court shall direct the Clerk to enter the government upon the docket.
Delay or Prejudice. In exercising its discretion under this subdivision, the court shall consider whether the intervention will unduly delay or prejudice the adjudication of the rights of the original parties and whether the intervention can be accommodated within the pre-trial period prescribed by Rule 6.
Procedure for Intervention.
Motion and Proposed Pleading. A motion to intervene shall state the grounds for intervention and shall be accompanied by the pleading that sets out the claim or defense for which intervention is sought. The motion and the proposed pleading shall be transmitted as documents of a single filing.
How a Nonparty Presents the Motion. A person who is not a party to a case cannot transmit a filing in that case through the general filing channel. A motion to intervene shall therefore be presented either by an attorney in good standing who enters a Notice of Appearance on the movant’s behalf, which entry places the movant upon the docket, or by application to the Clerk, who shall enter the motion upon the docket on the movant’s behalf.
Status of the Movant Pending Decision. A movant entered upon the docket under paragraph (b) of this subdivision is a party for the purpose of transmitting filings relating to the motion to intervene and for no other purpose until the motion is granted.
Denial of Intervention. If intervention is denied, the court shall direct the Clerk to remove the movant’s entry from the docket. Where the movant was placed upon the docket by a Notice of Appearance, the Clerk shall reject that Notice under Rule 5.3, which severs the representation and removes the party entry the Notice created. Filings already accepted remain of record.
Timeliness. A motion to intervene is timely if filed before the close of the pre-trial period prescribed by Rule 6. A motion filed thereafter may be granted only upon a showing that the movant’s interest arose or became known after that period, that the movant acted without delay, and that intervention will not prejudice the existing parties.
Effect of Intervention. An intervenor is a party for all purposes from the entry of the order granting intervention, is bound by every prior order of the court, and takes the action as the intervenor finds it. The court may impose conditions upon an intervenor, including conditions limiting the issues the intervenor may raise, the discovery the intervenor may take, and the relief the intervenor may seek.
Interpleader.
By a Plaintiff. Persons with claims that may expose a plaintiff to double or multiple liability may be joined as defendants and required to interplead. Joinder for interpleader is proper even though the claims of the several claimants, or the titles on which those claims depend, lack a common origin or are adverse and independent rather than identical, and even though the plaintiff denies liability in whole or in part to any or all of the claimants.
By a Defendant. A defendant exposed to similar liability may seek interpleader through a counterclaim or crossclaim under Rule 13.1.
Joinder of the Claimants. Claimants are brought in as Rule 17.1(10) prescribes, and each is served with process under Rule 4.
Custody of the Subject Matter. Deposit or delivery of the subject matter of the interpleader into the custody of the court is governed by Rule 48. Where deposit is impracticable, the court may instead order the stakeholder to retain the money or property, may enjoin its transfer, sale, consumption, or other disposition under Rule 47, and may enforce that order against the person of the stakeholder by contempt under Rule 53. An order under this paragraph binds the persons to whom it is directed and does not operate against the electronic filing system or against any registry.
Discharge of the Stakeholder. Upon a determination that the stakeholder claims no interest in the subject matter, has acted in good faith, and has complied with every order respecting the custody of the subject matter, the court may discharge the stakeholder from further liability, dismiss the stakeholder from the action, and enjoin the claimants from instituting or prosecuting any other proceeding against the stakeholder respecting the subject matter.