In any action the court may, for convenience or to avoid prejudice, order a separate trial of any claim, counterclaim, cross-claim, cross-petition, or of any separate issue, or any number of any of them. Any claim against a party may be thus severed and proceeded with separately.
Rule 1.914.Separate trials
Division IX: Trial and Judgment · Last amended February 15, 2002 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceRule 1.914 lets the court, for convenience or to avoid prejudice, order a separate trial of any claim, counterclaim, cross-claim, cross-petition, or individual issue in a case, and allows any claim against a party to be severed and pursued on its own.
Full Text of Rule 1.914
Plain-English Summary
Rule 1.913 lets the court bring separate cases together; Rule 1.914 lets it pull pieces of a single case apart. For convenience, or to avoid prejudice, the court may order a separate trial of any claim, counterclaim, cross-claim, cross-petition, or any separate issue in the action — or any number of them together.
This gives the court flexibility to manage cases that have grown unwieldy, whether because of the number of claims involved or the risk that trying everything together would prejudice one side. A single sprawling case does not have to be tried as one undivided event just because it was filed that way.
Rule 1.914 also allows a claim against a particular party to be severed entirely and proceeded with separately, which can let one part of a case move forward, or resolve, independent of the rest.
Frequently Asked Questions
On what grounds can the court order separate trials within one case?
Rule 1.914 allows separate trials for convenience or to avoid prejudice, covering any claim, counterclaim, cross-claim, cross-petition, or separate issue, alone or in combination.
Can a claim against just one defendant be split off from the rest of the case?
Yes. Rule 1.914 allows any claim against a party to be severed and proceeded with separately from the rest of the action.
Does the court need a party's consent to order separate trials under Rule 1.914?
The rule does not condition separate trials on party consent — it gives the court authority to order them for convenience or to avoid prejudice.
How is Rule 1.914 different from Rule 1.913 on consolidation?
Rule 1.913 lets the court combine separate actions or issues for joint handling; Rule 1.914 works the other way, letting the court divide a single action into separate trials of its claims or issues.
Can more than one issue be tried separately from the rest of the case at once?
Yes. Rule 1.914 allows a separate trial of any number of claims, counterclaims, cross-claims, cross-petitions, or issues, not just a single one at a time.
Source & verification. Rule text and the Comment are
reproduced verbatim from the Iowa Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted by the
Iowa Supreme Court. Last verified July 15, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: iowa separate trials rulesevering claims for trial iowarule 1.914 iowaseparate trial to avoid prejudice iowa