Rule 20.Permissive Joinder of Parties

Rule 15-6-20 governs when a South Dakota case can involve more than one plaintiff or more than one defendant by choice, rather than by necessity under Rule 15-6-19. Subdivision (a) allows multiple people to join as plaintiffs if they assert a right to relief jointly, severally, or in the alternative arising out of the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences, and if a question of law or fact common to all of them will arise in the case. The same standard applies to joining multiple defendants: they can be joined together if a right to relief is asserted against them jointly, severally, or in the alternative arising from that same kind of connected event, with a common question running through the case. No joined plaintiff or defendant needs to have an interest in every form of relief sought, and the court can enter judgment for some plaintiffs and against some defendants according to each one’s rights and liabilities.

Subdivision (b) gives the court a tool to manage the practical costs of that kind of joinder. It may enter orders preventing a party from being embarrassed, delayed, or put to unnecessary expense because they were joined alongside a party against whom they assert no claim and who asserts none against them, including ordering separate trials or other measures to prevent delay or prejudice.