Group IV: Parties · Last amended March 1, 2011 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceRule 22 lets someone facing competing claims to the same money or property force the rival claimants into one interpleader action, allows a defendant to seek interpleader through a crossclaim or counterclaim, and leaves the ordinary joinder rules in Rule 20 untouched.
(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 crossclaim or counterclaim.
(b)Relation to other rules. This rule supplements, and does not limit, the joinder of parties allowed by Rule 20.
Explanatory Note
Rule 22 was amended, effective March 1, 1990, March 1, 2011. This rule is derived from Fed.R.Civ.P. 22. A provision derived from N.D.R.C. 1943 § 28-0224 that allowed interpleader by substitution was deleted, effective
March 1, 2011. Rule 22 was amended, effective March 1, 2011, in response to the December 1, 2007, revision of the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure. The language and organization of the rule were changed to make the rule more easily understood and to make style and terminology consistent throughout the rules.
Rule 22 was amended, effective March 1, 1990. The amendments are technical in nature and no substantive change is intended.
Plain-English Summary
Interpleader solves a specific problem: a person or company that might owe something to more than one claimant, but cannot safely pay any of them without risking having to pay again, needs a way to make every claimant show up and litigate against each other in one place. Rule 22(a)(1) lets a plaintiff join rival claimants as defendants and require them to interplead, meaning they must litigate their competing claims against each other rather than separately against the stakeholder.
The rule removes two objections that might otherwise block interpleader. Joinder still works even if the claimants' claims, or the titles their claims rest on, do not share a common origin and are instead adverse to one another. It also works even if the plaintiff denies owing anything to some or all of the claimants — a stakeholder does not have to concede liability to force the claimants into the same action.
Rule 22(a)(2) gives a defendant the same tool: someone already sued who faces similar exposure to double or multiple liability may seek interpleader through a crossclaim or counterclaim rather than starting a new action. Rule 22(b) makes clear this rule adds to, rather than replaces, the general joinder-of-parties rule in Rule 20 — interpleader is an additional option, not the only path for bringing multiple claimants into one case.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is interpleader, and when would I use it?
Interpleader lets a person who might be liable to more than one claimant for the same money or property join those claimants as defendants and require them to litigate their competing claims in a single action, rather than facing separate suits that could result in paying twice.
Can I use interpleader if I deny owing anything to some of the claimants?
Yes. Rule 22(a)(1)(B) allows joinder for interpleader even if the plaintiff denies liability in whole or in part to any or all of the claimants.
Do the competing claims have to be related to each other to use interpleader?
No. Rule 22(a)(1)(A) allows interpleader even if the claimants' claims, or the titles their claims depend on, lack a common origin or are adverse and independent rather than identical.
Can a defendant who is already being sued use interpleader?
Yes. Rule 22(a)(2) lets a defendant exposed to similar liability seek interpleader through a crossclaim or counterclaim, instead of only being available to a plaintiff opening a new case.
Does Rule 22 replace the ordinary rule for joining multiple parties?
No. Rule 22(b) states that this rule supplements, and does not limit, the joinder of parties allowed by Rule 20, so interpleader is an additional tool rather than a substitute.
Source & verification. Rule text and the Explanatory Note are
reproduced verbatim from the North Dakota Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted by the
Supreme Court of North Dakota. Last verified July 15, 2026.
· Official source
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