Of the parties to the action, those who are united in interest shall be joined as plaintiffs or defendants; but if the consent of one who should have been joined as plaintiff cannot be obtained, he or she may be made a defendant, the reason being stated in the complaint.
§ 25-318.Necessary joinder; involuntary joinder; procedure.
Article 3: Parties · Last amended 2002 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis section requires parties who share a united interest in a lawsuit to join together as either plaintiffs or defendants, and it lets a plaintiff turn a reluctant co-plaintiff into a defendant when that person will not consent to join, so long as the complaint explains why.
Full Text of § 25-318
Source
R.S.1867, Code § 42, p. 399; R.S.1913, § 7599; C.S.1922, § 8542; C.S.1929, § 20-318; R.S.1943, § 25-318; Laws 2002, LB 876, § 6.
Plain-English Summary
Some lawsuits involve people whose legal interests are so tied together that the case makes little sense without both of them. Section 25-318 addresses that situation directly: parties who are “united in interest” must be joined together, either as co-plaintiffs or co-defendants, rather than litigated separately. Two co-owners of property who both stand to gain or lose from a boundary dispute are a familiar example — the law wants their shared stake resolved in one case, not scattered across several.
The section also solves a practical problem. Sometimes a person who should be a co-plaintiff will not go along with the suit — maybe they doubt the claim, maybe they refuse to cooperate outright. Section 25-318 does not let that refusal block the case. If the plaintiff cannot get that person’s consent to join as a co-plaintiff, the plaintiff may name the holdout as a defendant instead, stating in the complaint why that person was made a defendant rather than a plaintiff. That keeps every interested party inside the same lawsuit, even the uncooperative ones, and stops a single reluctant party from forcing separate litigation or leaving their interest unresolved.
This is one of Nebraska’s oldest joinder provisions, tracing back to the 1867 code, and it works alongside the broader necessary-party power the court holds under section 25-323. Where section 25-323 gives the court authority to order additional parties brought into a pending case, section 25-318 addresses the narrower situation of parties who are so united in interest that they belong together from the start.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean for parties to be “united in interest” under section 25-318?
It describes parties whose legal rights and obligations in the dispute are tied so closely together that a judgment affecting one will effectively affect the other, such as joint owners of the same property or co-obligors on the same contract.
Can a plaintiff sue someone who should be a co-plaintiff but refuses to join the case?
Yes. Section 25-318 lets the plaintiff name that person as a defendant instead, provided the complaint states the reason that person was not joined as a plaintiff.
Why would the law force someone into a case as a defendant rather than let them stay out entirely?
Because their interest is united with the plaintiff’s interest, leaving them out could produce an incomplete or inconsistent resolution of the dispute, so the section keeps every affected party inside the same lawsuit.
Does section 25-318 require an explanation for making a reluctant party a defendant instead of a plaintiff?
Yes. The complaint must state the reason that person is named as a defendant rather than joined voluntarily as a plaintiff.
How does section 25-318 differ from the necessary-party rule in section 25-323?
Section 25-318 addresses parties whose interests are already united and who therefore belong on one side of the case or the other from the outset, while section 25-323 gives the court a broader, ongoing power to order any party brought into a pending case when their presence is needed to resolve the controversy.
Does this section apply only to plaintiffs, or can it affect who is named as a defendant generally?
Its involuntary-joinder mechanism is specific to a person who should have joined as a plaintiff but will not consent; the general rules for joining multiple defendants together are addressed in section 25-320.
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
Also known as: forcing a co-plaintiff into a lawsuitreluctant plaintiff made defendant nebraskaunited in interest joindernecessary co-plaintiff refuses to suenebraska involuntary joinder statutesection 25-318 joinder of parties