Every action shall be prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest except as otherwise provided in section 25-304. An action shall not be dismissed on the ground that it is not prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest until a reasonable time has been allowed after objection for joinder or substitution of the real party in interest. Joinder or substitution of the real party in interest shall have the same effect as if the action had been commenced by the real party in interest.
§ 25-301.Real party in interest.
Article 3: Parties · Last amended 1999 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis section requires that a civil action be brought in the name of the person or entity that holds the right being enforced, while barring a court from dismissing the case over a naming mistake before the plaintiff has a fair chance to fix it.
Full Text of § 25-301
Source
R.S.1867, Code § 29, p. 398; R.S.1913, § 7582; C.S.1922, § 8525; C.S.1929, § 20-301; R.S.1943, § 25-301; Laws 1999, LB 48, § 1.
Plain-English Summary
Section 25-301 sets the basic rule for who gets to stand as plaintiff in a Nebraska lawsuit: the real party in interest, meaning the person or entity that owns the claim and is entitled to whatever relief the suit seeks. That is not always the person with the most obvious stake in the outcome, and it is not the lawyer or agent who happens to be handling the matter. It is the party the law recognizes as the true owner of the right being sued on. Section 25-304 lists several situations where someone may sue in a representative capacity without joining the person they represent, and this section works alongside that exception.
The section also protects a plaintiff who gets the name wrong. A defendant cannot use a real-party-in-interest problem to end a case outright. Once the defendant objects, the court must give the plaintiff a reasonable amount of time to join or substitute the correct party. That built-in cushion keeps an honest naming error from destroying an otherwise sound claim, and it puts the burden on the defendant to raise the issue rather than letting it sit unraised until it is too late to cure.
Once the real party in interest joins the case or replaces the original plaintiff, the statute treats the lawsuit as though that party had filed it from day one. That relation-back effect matters most when a limitations period has run in the meantime: the corrected party keeps the benefit of the original filing date instead of starting over.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "real party in interest" mean under this section?
It means the person or entity that owns the legal right being sued on and is entitled to the relief demanded, as opposed to someone who merely has an interest in the outcome or handled the matter on another’s behalf.
Can a Nebraska court dismiss a case immediately because the wrong party filed it?
No. The court has to allow a reasonable time, after the defendant objects, for the real party in interest to join the action or be substituted in before dismissal is even on the table.
Who is allowed to sue without joining the person they represent?
Section 25-304 lists categories such as executors, administrators, guardians, and trustees of an express trust who may sue in their own name on behalf of someone else.
If the correct plaintiff is substituted in after the statute of limitations has run, is the case still timely?
Yes. Substitution or joinder of the real party in interest has the same effect as if that party had commenced the action at the outset, so the original filing date carries over.
Who typically raises a real-party-in-interest problem?
Usually the defendant, by objecting that the named plaintiff does not hold the right being enforced. The objection triggers the plaintiff’s reasonable-time window to fix the defect.
Does this section limit who can be sued as a defendant?
No. It addresses who must prosecute the action as plaintiff. Other sections in this article address how defendants are designated and sued.
Source & verification. Section text and the amendment-history citation are
reproduced verbatim from the Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes, enacted by the
Nebraska Legislature. Last verified July 22, 2026. ·
Official source
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