Upon timely application anyone may be permitted to intervene in an action: (a) when a statute confers a conditional right to intervene or (b) 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 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.
Rule 24.02.Permissive intervention.
Current through June 18, 2026 · Last verified July 9, 2026
In one sentenceRule 24.02 lets the court, using its discretion, allow someone to intervene in a Kentucky lawsuit when a statute gives a conditional right to do so or when the applicant's claim or defense shares a common question of law or fact with the pending action, weighing delay or prejudice to the original parties.
Full Text of Rule 24.02
Amendment History
(Amended October 18, 1977, effective January 1, 1978.)
Plain-English Summary
Rule 24.02 covers intervention that the court can grant, but does not have to. A person can ask to join a pending lawsuit when a statute gives a conditional right to intervene, or when the claim or defense that person wants to raise shares a question of law or fact with the case already in progress. Unlike intervention of right, the court weighs the request rather than granting it automatically.
The rule also lets a government officer or agency step into a case when one of the parties is relying on a statute, executive order, regulation, or similar rule that the officer or agency administers. Whether the applicant is a private party or a government body, the court's central concern is timing and fairness to the parties already in the case: it looks at whether letting the newcomer in will unduly delay the proceedings or prejudice the rights of the parties who are already there.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Rule 24.01 and Rule 24.02 intervention?
Rule 24.01 covers intervention the court must allow once the conditions are met. Rule 24.02 covers intervention the court may allow, using its discretion, when a statute gives a conditional right to intervene or when the applicant's claim or defense shares a common question of law or fact with the pending case.
Can a government agency intervene in a private lawsuit in Kentucky?
Yes. When a party relies on a statute, executive order, regulation, or similar rule administered by a government officer or agency, that officer or agency may ask to intervene under Rule 24.02, subject to the same timeliness and undue-delay considerations that apply to any permissive intervention.
Will intervening delay my lawsuit?
It can. Rule 24.02 directs the court to consider whether allowing the intervention will unduly delay or prejudice the rights of the original parties, so a request that would slow the case down or unfairly disadvantage the current parties can be denied even if the applicant's claim shares issues with the case.
Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the
official Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure (Ky. R. Civ. P. 24.02). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Kentucky (Ky. Const. § 116). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 9, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: permissive intervention Kentuckyasking court permission to join a lawsuitCR 24.02government agency joining lawsuitdiscretionary intervention civil casecommon question of law intervening