(a) Intervention of Right. Upon timely application anyone shall be permitted to intervene in an action: (1) when a statute of this state confers an unconditional right to intervene; or (2) when the applicant claims an interest relating to the property or transaction which is the subject of the action and he is so situated that the disposition of the action may as a practical matter impair or impede his ability to protect that interest, unless the applicant’s interest is adequately represented by existing parties.
Rule 24.Intervention
Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceRule 24 lets someone who isn't yet a party join a pending lawsuit, either as of right when a statute or a practical stake entitles them to intervene, or permissively when the court allows it.
Full Text of Rule 24
(b) Permissive Intervention. Upon timely application anyone may be permitted to intervene in an action: (1) when a statute of this state confers a conditional right to intervene; or (2) when an applicant’s claim or defense and the main action have a question of law or fact in common. When a party to an action relies for ground of claim or defense upon any statute or executive order administered by a federal or state governmental officer or agency or upon any regulation, order, requirement or agreement issued or made pursuant to the statute or executive order, the officer or agency upon timely application may be permitted to intervene in the action. In exercising its discretion, the court shall consider whether the intervention will unduly delay or prejudice the adjudication of the rights of the original parties.
(c) Procedure. A person desiring to intervene shall serve a motion to intervene upon the parties as provided in Rule 5. The motion shall state the grounds therefor and shall be accompanied by a pleading setting forth the claim or defense for which intervention is sought. When the constitutionality of a statute of this state affecting the public interest is drawn into question in any action, the court may require that the Attorney General of this state be notified of such question.
Reporter's Notes
Reporter’s Notes to Rule 24: 1. Generally speaking, the question of whether to allow an intervention has rested in the discretion of the trial court. There are situations, however, under prior Arkansas law where an intervention has been allowed as a matter of right. Ark. Stat. Ann. § 31-157 (Repl. 1962) permits a person contesting the validity of an attachment or claiming an interest in attached property to intervene to assert his rights. That statute seems to suggest that an intervention is allowed as a matter of right once the proper interest is shown in the subject matter. Lawrence v. Ford Motor Credit Co., 247 Ark. 1125, 449 S.W.2d 695 (1970). Likewise, Ark. Stat. Ann. § 34-1809 (Repl. 1962), provides that upon proper showing, a party claiming an interest in property about to be sold at a partition sale can intervene in that action, with the implication that such right is unconditional. Also, Ark. Stat. Ann. § 81-1340(a) (Repl. 1962), seems to suggest that a workmen’s compensation carrier has the unconditional right to intervene in an action brought by an injured employee against a third party. Thus, there are at least three situations where the right to intervene is granted by statute as contemplated by Rule 24(a)(1).
2. The Arkansas Supreme Court has held that intervention is not a common law right, but is instead based upon the principle that a party should be permitted to do that voluntarily which, if known, a court would require to be done. Board of Directors of St. Francis Levee Dist. v. Raney, 190 Ark. 75, 76 S.W.2d 311 (1934). Accordingly, the court has followed the general rule that only necessary parties could intervene as a matter of right, while permitting the trial court to exercise its discretion in deciding whether others could intervene. Pulaski County Bd. of Eq. v. American Republic Life Ins. Co., 223 Ark. 124, 342 S.W.2d 660 (1961). Section (a)(2) of this rule suggests, however, that an intervention as a matter of right may not be limited to those persons who have been traditionally considered as "necessary" parties.
3. Section (b) does not appear to change to any appreciable degree prior Arkansas law concerning permissive interventions. As noted herein, the question of permitting persons other than those mentioned in Section (a) to intervene rests in the sound discretion of the trial court. Thus, Section (b), does not work any changes in prior law.
Plain-English Summary
Sometimes a person watching a lawsuit from the sidelines has too much at stake to stay there. Rule 24 gives that person a path in. Intervention of right under subdivision (a) applies when a statute grants an unconditional right to join, or when the applicant has an interest in the property or transaction at issue and a decision in the case could, as a practical matter, impair that interest — unless someone already in the case is representing it adequately. Because it's a right, a court has little room to turn away a timely, qualifying application.
Permissive intervention under subdivision (b) works differently: the court has discretion whether to let someone in, based on a shared question of law or fact with the main action, a statute allowing conditional intervention, or, for a government officer or agency, a claim or defense resting on a statute, executive order, or regulation that agency administers. In weighing a request for permissive intervention, the court has to consider whether letting the newcomer in will unduly delay the case or prejudice the parties already there.
Procedurally, intervention starts with a motion served on the existing parties, accompanied by the pleading the intervenor would file if allowed in — a complaint or answer laying out the claim or defense at stake. And when a case calls the constitutionality of an Arkansas statute into question, the rule lets the court make sure the Attorney General knows about it, since the state has an interest in defending its own laws even in litigation it wasn't originally part of.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between intervention of right and permissive intervention?
Intervention of right leaves the court little discretion — a timely applicant with a qualifying statutory right or a practical interest in the subject of the suit gets to join unless an existing party already protects that interest adequately. Permissive intervention is discretionary; the court weighs shared legal or factual questions against the risk of delay or prejudice to the existing parties before deciding whether to allow it.
What does it mean for an application to intervene to be timely?
Rule 24 doesn't set a fixed deadline, but both intervention of right and permissive intervention require a timely application. Courts look at how far the case has progressed and whether letting a new party in at that point would prejudice the parties already litigating it.
Can a court deny intervention of right if someone already in the case protects the same interest?
Yes. Intervention of right applies unless the applicant's interest is already adequately represented by an existing party. If the court finds that representation is adequate, it can deny the motion even though the applicant has a genuine stake in the outcome.
What has to accompany a motion to intervene?
The motion must state the grounds for intervention and be accompanied by the pleading — a complaint or answer — that sets out the claim or defense the intervenor wants to raise, and it must be served on the existing parties under Rule 5.
When does the Attorney General get notified of a case under Rule 24?
When the constitutionality of an Arkansas statute affecting the public interest is drawn into question in the litigation, the court may require that the Attorney General be notified, giving the state a chance to weigh in on the defense of its own law.
Can a government agency intervene in a private lawsuit?
Yes, under Rule 24(b), when a party relies on a statute, executive order, or regulation that a federal or state officer or agency administers, that officer or agency may seek timely permissive intervention to participate in the case.
Source & verification. Rule text, Reporter's Notes, and amendment
history are reproduced verbatim from the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure, prescribed by
the Arkansas Supreme Court. The plain-English summary is original and written by us.
Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: intervention arkansasjoining an existing lawsuitintervention of rightpermissive interventionmotion to intervene arkansas