Rule 19.Necessary Joinder of Parties.
Current through February 2024 · Last verified September 12, 2026
Full Text of Rule 19
Amendment History
Rhode Island does not publish a per-rule amendment history inside the compiled rules text reproduced here. The text above is verified current through the source’s own February 2024 printing; for the underlying adopting orders and any later amendments, see the Rhode Island Judiciary’s compiled rules page.
Plain-English Summary
Subdivision (a) states the core duty. People who hold a joint interest that is not also a several interest must be made parties and lined up on the side that matches their interest. If someone who ought to join as a plaintiff refuses to do so, the rule allows that person to be made a defendant instead.
Subdivision (b) reaches the next tier down — people who are not indispensable but who ought to be parties if complete relief is to be given among those already in the case. If they are subject to the court's jurisdiction, the court must order them summoned to appear. If the only way to reach them is their consent or voluntary appearance, the court may use its discretion and go forward without them, and the judgment then does not affect the rights or liabilities of anyone absent.
Subdivision (c) carries the requirement people miss. Any pleading that asks for relief must set forth the names, if the pleader knows them, of persons who ought to be parties for complete relief but who are not joined, and must state why they were omitted. That duty lands on the pleader when the pleading is drafted — the names and the reasons belong in the pleading itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has to be joined as a party in a Rhode Island Family Court case?
Subdivision (a) requires persons holding a joint interest that is not also a several interest to be made parties, joined on the same side as plaintiffs or as defendants. That duty is subject to the handling set out in subdivision (b).
What if a person who should be a plaintiff refuses to join the case?
Subdivision (a) provides that a person who should join as a plaintiff and refuses to do so may be made a defendant instead. The rule permits that step; it does not command it.
What does the court do when a needed person was left out?
Under subdivision (b), the court may have to bring that person into the case. If the person is not indispensable but ought to be a party for complete relief and is subject to the court's jurisdiction, the court shall order the person summoned to appear in the action.
Can a case go forward without a person the court cannot reach?
Yes. Subdivision (b) gives the court discretion to proceed where jurisdiction over the person could be acquired only by consent or voluntary appearance, and the judgment in that case does not affect the rights or liabilities of the absent person.
Do I have to name people I did not join as parties?
Yes. Subdivision (c) requires any pleading asking for relief to name the persons known to the pleader who ought to be parties for complete relief but were not joined, and to state why they were omitted.