Group IV: Parties · Last amended March 1, 2019 · Last verified July 14, 2026
In one sentenceRule 19 identifies when someone missing from a lawsuit must be added because their absence would leave the court unable to grant full relief or would put their own interests or an existing party at risk, and it tells the court what to do when that person cannot be joined.
(1)Required Party. A person who is subject to service of process and whose joinder will not deprive the court of subject-matter jurisdiction must be joined as a party if:
(A)in that person’s absence, the court cannot accord complete relief among existing parties; or
(B)that person claims an interest relating to the subject of the action and is so situated that disposing of the action in the person’s absence may:
(i)as a practical matter impair or impede the person’s ability to protect the interest; or
(ii)leave an existing party subject to a substantial risk of incurring double, multiple, or otherwise inconsistent obligations because of the interest.
(2)Joinder by Court Order. If a person has not been joined as required, the court must order that the person be made a party. A person who refuses to join as a plaintiff may be made either a defendant or, in a proper case, an involuntary plaintiff.
(b)When Joinder Is Not Feasible. If a person who is required to be joined if feasible cannot be joined, the court must determine whether, in equity and good conscience, the action should proceed among the existing parties or should be dismissed. The factors for the court to consider include:
(1)the extent to which a judgment rendered in the person’s absence might prejudice that person or the existing parties;
(2)the extent to which any prejudice could be lessened or avoided by:
(A)protective provisions in the judgment;
(B)shaping the relief; or
(C)other measures;
(3)whether a judgment rendered in the person’s absence would be adequate; and
(4)whether the plaintiff would have an adequate remedy if the action were dismissed for nonjoinder.
(c)Pleading the Reasons for Nonjoinder. When asserting a claim for relief, a party must state:
(1)the name, if known, of any person who is required to be joined if feasible but is not joined; and
(2)the reasons for not joining that person.
(d)Exception for Class Actions. This rule is subject to Rule 23.
Notes
Editor’s Note: Subsections (a) — (c) were amended effective September 27, 1971. Subsection (d) was added effective September 27, 1971. The amendments, effective January 1, 2005, are technical.
Advisory Committee Note — 2019 Amendment: The amendments generally conform Rule 19 to FRCP 19. Persons joined in an action in Nevada retain any rights they may have to move to change the venue under NRS Chapter 13 or to move to dismiss under forum non conveniens.
Some lawsuits cannot be decided justly without a particular person in the room. Rule 19 flags those situations. A person must be brought into the case if the court cannot give complete relief to the parties already there without them, or if that person has a stake in the dispute that would be practically damaged by a ruling made in their absence, or that would expose an existing party to conflicting obligations toward different people over the same thing. Courts sometimes call these people necessary or indispensable parties, though the rule itself just describes when joinder is required if it can be done.
When a court decides someone belongs in the case, it orders that person joined, and if they refuse to come in as a plaintiff, the court can align them as a defendant or even an involuntary plaintiff instead. Trouble arises when that person cannot be joined at all, often because bringing them in would destroy the court's jurisdiction over the case. In that situation, the rule directs the court to weigh fairness: how much prejudice a ruling might cause, whether that prejudice can be softened by crafting the judgment carefully, whether a judgment without that person would mean anything, and whether the plaintiff has any other way to get relief if the case is dismissed. Nothing in the rule overrides how class actions work, since that separate procedure has its own way of representing absent people's interests.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a "required party" under Rule 19?
It is someone whose presence in the lawsuit is needed either because the court cannot grant complete relief without them, or because the case could damage their own interests or expose an existing party to conflicting obligations if decided without them.
Is this the same as what people call a "necessary" or "indispensable" party?
Those are older labels for the same basic idea. Rule 19 describes when a person must be joined if it is feasible to do so, and then separately addresses what happens if joining them turns out not to be feasible.
What happens if a required person will not join the lawsuit voluntarily?
The court can order them joined regardless. Someone who refuses to come in as a plaintiff can be made a defendant instead, or in the right circumstances, aligned as an involuntary plaintiff.
What if the missing person cannot be joined, for example because it would destroy the court's jurisdiction?
The court has to decide, weighing fairness to everyone involved, whether the case can proceed without that person or whether it should be dismissed. It looks at potential prejudice, whether that prejudice can be reduced, whether a judgment would be adequate without the missing person, and whether the plaintiff would have another way to seek relief.
Does a party have to explain why someone was left out of the lawsuit?
Yes. When a required party has not been joined, the pleading must name that person, if known, and explain the reasons they were not included.
Source & verification. Rule text, official Advisory Committee
Notes, and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Nevada Rules of Civil
Procedure, adopted by the Supreme Court of Nevada. Last verified July 14, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as:necessary parties ruleindispensable partiesrequired joinder of partiescomplete relief among partiesdismiss for failure to join a partyparty missing from lawsuit