Rule 67.Deposit into Court

Rule 67(a) gives a party a way to set disputed money or property aside while a case is pending. If part of the relief sought is a money judgment, or the disposition of a sum of money or some other deliverable thing, a party may deposit all or part of it with the court — and this works whether or not the depositing party claims any share of it. Two conditions apply: the party must give notice to every other party, and the deposit requires leave of court. Once permitted, the depositing party must deliver the clerk a copy of the order allowing the deposit.

Rule 67(b) then governs what happens to the money once it is in the court's hands: it must be deposited and withdrawn in accordance with D.C. Code § 11-1723(b), or any similar statute, rather than under a court-created scheme.

Unlike the federal version of this rule, the Superior Court's rule does not require deposited funds to sit in an interest-bearing account. According to the official comment, whether to place the money in such an account, and how to disburse it along with any accrued interest, is left to the court's discretion, weighed against the administrative burden of accounting for the funds. Nor does Rule 67 stand in the way of the court appointing a trustee, an escrow holder, or arranging some other suitable way to hold the money while the litigation proceeds.