Title IV: Parties · Last amended July 1, 2016 · Last verified July 14, 2026
In one sentenceRule 22 lets a person facing competing claims to the same money or property force all the rival claimants into one lawsuit instead of risking separate judgments that each demand payment.
(1)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:
(A)the claims of the several claimants, or the titles on which their claims depend, lack a common origin or are adverse and independent rather than identical; or
(B)the plaintiff denies liability in whole or in part to any or all of the claimants.
(2)By a defendant. A defendant exposed to similar liability may seek interpleader through a cross- claim or counterclaim.
(b)Relation to other rules. This rule supplements and does not limit the joinder of parties allowed by Rule 20.
Amendment History
(Adopted March 1, 2016, effective July 1, 2016.)
Plain-English Summary
Interpleader solves a specific kind of bind: someone holds money or property that two or more people claim, and paying the wrong claimant could mean paying twice. Rule 22 lets that person, as plaintiff, join all the rival claimants as defendants and require them to fight out among themselves who's entitled to the payment. It doesn't matter that the claimants' theories differ, conflict, or share no common origin, and the plaintiff can even deny owing anything to some or all of them while still using interpleader to force a single resolution.
A defendant facing the same kind of squeeze, exposure to competing claims over the same obligation, can raise interpleader too, through a cross-claim or counterclaim rather than as the plaintiff. Either way, Rule 22 doesn't replace the ordinary rules for joining parties in Rule 20; it adds another route to the same goal, letting a party pull every rival claimant into one case so the dispute gets resolved once instead of through a string of separate lawsuits.
Frequently Asked Questions
What problem does interpleader solve?
It solves the bind of holding money or property that more than one person claims, where paying the wrong one risks having to pay again.
Do the rival claimants need related legal theories to be interpleaded?
No. Rule 22 allows interpleader even when the claims are independent, adverse, and share no common origin.
Can I use interpleader if I don't think I owe anyone the money?
Yes. A plaintiff can deny liability in whole or in part to any or all of the claimants and still join them through interpleader.
Can a defendant, not just a plaintiff, use interpleader?
Yes, a defendant facing similar exposure can seek interpleader through a cross-claim or counterclaim.
Source & verification. Rule text
are reproduced verbatim from the Idaho Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted by the
Supreme Court of Idaho. Last verified July 14, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:interpleader rule idahocompeting claims to the same fundsue rival claimantsstakeholder lawsuitdouble liability joinder