(a) Stakeholder; claimant; action of interpleader. A stakeholder is a person who is or may be exposed to multiple liability as the result of adverse claims. A claimant is a person who has made or may be expected to make such a claim. A stakeholder may commence an action of interpleader against two or more claimants.
§ 1006.Interpleader.
Article 10. Parties Generally · Last amended 1994 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 1006 lets a stakeholder facing competing claims on the same fund or property force the claimants into one action -- either by suing them directly or by bringing a claimant into a pending case -- and lets the stakeholder deposit the disputed property with the court and step out of the dispute.
Full Text of CPLR 1006
(b) Defensive interpleader. A defendant stakeholder may bring in a claimant who is not a party by filing a summons and interpleader complaint. Service of process upon such a claimant shall be by serving upon such claimant a summons and interpleader complaint and all prior pleadings served in the action.
(c) Effect of pendency of another action against stakeholder. If a stakeholder seeks to bring in a claimant pursuant to subdivision (b) and there is pending in a court of the state an action between the claimant and the stakeholder based upon the same claim, the appropriate court, on motion, upon such terms as may be just, may dismiss the interpleader complaint and order consolidation or joint trial of the actions, or may make the claimant a party and stay the pending action until final disposition of the action in which interpleader is so granted, and may make such further order as may be just.
(d) Abolition of former grounds for objection. It is not ground for objection to interpleader that the claims of the several claimants or the titles on which their claims depend do not have a common origin or are not identical but are adverse to and independent of one another, or that the stakeholder avers that he is not liable in whole or in part to any or all of the claimants.
(e) Issue of independent liability. Where the issue of an independent liability of the stakeholder to a claimant is raised by the pleadings or upon motion, the court may dismiss the claim of the appropriate claimant, order severance or separate trials, or require the issue to be tried in the action.
(f) Discharge of stakeholder. After the time for all parties to plead has expired, the stakeholder may move for an order discharging him from liability in whole or in part to any party. The stakeholder shall submit proof by affidavit or otherwise of the allegations in his pleading. The court may grant the motion and require payment into court, delivery to a person designated by the court or retention to the credit of the action, of the subject matter of the action to be disposed of in accordance with further order or the judgment. An order under subdivision (g) shall not discharge the stakeholder from liability to any claimant until an order granted under this subdivision is complied with. The court shall impose such terms relating to payment of expenses, costs and disbursements as may be just and which may be charged against the subject matter of the action. If the court shall determine that a party is entitled to interest, in the absence of an agreement by the stakeholder as to the rate of interest, he shall be liable to such party for interest to the date of discharge at a rate no greater than the lowest discount rate of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for discounts for, and advances to, member banks in effect from time to time during the period for which, as found by the court, interest should be paid.
(g) Deposit of money as basis for jurisdiction. Where a stakeholder is otherwise entitled to proceed under this section for the determination of a right to, interest in or lien upon a sum of money, whether or not liquidated in amount, payable in the state pursuant to a contract or claimed as damages for unlawful retention of specific real or personal property in the state, he may move, either before or after an action has been commenced against him, for an order permitting him to pay the sum of money or part of it into court or to a designated person or to retain it to the credit of the action. Upon compliance with a court order permitting such deposit or retention, the sum of money shall be deemed specific property within the state within the meaning of paragraph two of section 314.
Plain-English Summary
Interpleader solves a specific problem: someone holds money or property that two or more people claim, and paying the wrong claimant could mean paying twice. CPLR 1006 defines the stakeholder as the person exposed to that double liability, and the claimants as the people asserting or likely to assert a right to the fund. Under subdivision (a), the stakeholder can start an interpleader action against two or more claimants and let the court sort out who is entitled to what.
Subdivision (b) covers the defensive version: a defendant who is already being sued over the fund can bring in another claimant who isn't yet a party, by serving that claimant with a summons and interpleader complaint along with everything already filed in the case. Subdivision (c) handles overlap with other pending litigation -- if a separate action between the stakeholder and a claimant is already underway, the court can dismiss the interpleader claim and consolidate the cases, or stay one action while the other proceeds, whatever keeps the dispute from splitting into duplicate lawsuits.
Subdivision (d) clears away old obstacles to interpleader: claims don't need a common origin, and don't need to be consistent with one another, to be resolved together, and a stakeholder can deny liability to every claimant and still use the procedure. Subdivision (e) lets the court handle a claimant's assertion that the stakeholder is independently liable to it beyond the interpleaded fund, by dismissing that claimant's claim, ordering it severed or separately tried, or having the issue tried within the interpleader action itself. Subdivision (f) gives the stakeholder a way out: after everyone has had a chance to plead, the stakeholder can move to be discharged from liability, deposit the disputed money or property with the court or a court-designated custodian, and let the claimants fight over it without the stakeholder's continued involvement. Subdivision (g) serves a narrower, jurisdictional purpose: depositing a disputed sum of money into court, or with a person the court designates, lets that money be treated as specific property within New York for jurisdictional purposes under CPLR 314.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is interpleader in New York civil procedure?
Interpleader under CPLR 1006 is a procedure that lets a stakeholder facing competing claims to the same fund or property bring all the claimants into one lawsuit, so a single court can decide who is entitled to it.
How does a stakeholder start an interpleader action in New York?
Under CPLR 1006(a), a stakeholder exposed to multiple liability may commence an action of interpleader directly against two or more claimants.
Can a defendant use interpleader in New York?
Yes. CPLR 1006(b) lets a defendant who is already a stakeholder in a pending case bring in another claimant who isn't yet a party by serving a summons and interpleader complaint along with the prior pleadings in the action.
Can a stakeholder be discharged from liability under CPLR 1006?
Yes. Under CPLR 1006(f), after the time to plead has expired, the stakeholder can move for an order discharging it from liability, generally by depositing the disputed money or property with the court or a designated custodian.
Do interpleader claims need to arise from the same facts in New York?
No. CPLR 1006(d) does away with the old requirement that competing claims share a common origin or be consistent with each other, so unrelated or even contradictory claims to the same fund can still be resolved through interpleader.
Can a stakeholder deny owing anything to the claimants and still interplead?
Yes. CPLR 1006(d) lets a stakeholder assert that it isn't liable in whole or in part to any of the claimants and still use interpleader to resolve their competing claims.
Advisory Committee Notes
Except for formal or minor changes, this section follows § 285 of the CPA which was recommended by the Judicial Council. See 20 NY Jud Council Rep 271, 319 (1954). Cf. Fed R Civ P 22.
As to § 287 on the interpleader compact, see Zimmerman, Wendall and Heller, Effective Interpleader via Interstate Compacts, 55 Colum L Rev 56 (1955). However, no other jurisdiction has entered into a compact with New York. See also CPA §§ 51-a, 51-b; Frumer, On Revising the New York Interpleader Statutes, 25 NYUL Rev 737 (1950); Note, 24 NYUL Rev 894 (1949).
Subd (g) is derived from CPA § 286, which was enacted in 1954 as part of the Judicial Council’s revision of the interpleader provisions. NY Laws 1954, c. 561; see 20 NY Jud Council Rep 267, 281–84 (1954). Subd 1 of CPA § 286 simply affirms that interpleader may be based on in rem or quasi in rem jurisdiction where the subject matter is specific real or personal property within the state; it is covered by the specific reference to an action of interpleader or defensive interpleader in new CPLR § 314. Subd 2 of § 286, however, represents an innovation; it provides for the creation of a res upon which interpleader jurisdiction may be based, by segregation pursuant to a court order of a sum of money representing the amount of the stakeholder’s obligation. Like the interpleader compact (see CPA § 287), it is designed to meet the problem of affording the stakeholder a complete adjudication though some of the claimants are nonresidents and not subject to personal jurisdiction. As the Council recognized, there may be some question concerning its constitutionality (see 20 NY Jud Council Rep 284 (1954)), but this apparently has not yet been determined in any reported decision. Subd (g) retains this provision with only minor changes of language.
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308, eff Sept 1, 1963; amd, L 1994, ch 563, § 2, eff July 26, 1994.
Source & verification. Provision text, History, and Advisory
Committee Notes are reproduced verbatim from the Consolidated Laws of New York.
Last verified July 21, 2026.
· Official source
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