Persons having claims against the plaintiff may be joined as defendants and required to interplead when their claims are such that the plaintiff is or may be exposed to double or multiple liability. It is not ground for objection to the joinder that the claims of the several claimants or the titles on which their claims depend do not have a common origin or are not identical but are adverse to and independent of one another, or that the plaintiff avers that the plaintiff is not liable in whole or in part to any or all of the claimants. A defendant exposed to similar liability may obtain such interpleader by way of cross-claim or counterclaim. The provisions of this role supplement and do not in any way limit the joinder of parties permitted in Rule 20.
Rule 22.Interpleader.
Last amended January 1, 2000 · Last verified July 3, 2026
In one sentenceRule 22 lets a party facing competing claims to the same money or property join all the claimants as defendants and require them to fight it out among themselves, even if the claims don't share a common origin.
Full Text of Rule 22
Amendment History
Amended December 7, 1999, effective January 1, 2000
Plain-English Summary
Rule 22 addresses the situation where a party might have to pay the same debt twice because more than one person claims a right to it. It lets that party join every claimant as a defendant and require them to interplead, and it doesn't matter that the claimants' claims or the titles behind them lack a common origin, aren't identical, or are adverse to and independent of one another, nor does it matter that the plaintiff denies owing anything to some or all of the claimants. A defendant facing the same kind of exposure can seek interpleader through a cross-claim or counterclaim instead. The rule works alongside Rule 20's party-joinder provisions rather than limiting them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a party use interpleader if the competing claims don't share a common origin?
Yes. Rule 22 says it's not a ground for objection that the claimants' claims or titles lack a common origin, aren't identical, or are adverse to and independent of each other.
Can a defendant use interpleader, or is it only for plaintiffs?
A defendant exposed to similar double or multiple liability can obtain interpleader by way of cross-claim or counterclaim.
Source & verification. The rule text and History are reproduced verbatim from the
official Hawaii Rules of Civil Procedure (Haw. R. Civ. P. 22). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Hawaii (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 602-11; Haw. Const. art. VI, § 7). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 3, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: interpleader claimcompeting claims to same propertydouble liability