Persons having claims against the plaintiff may be joined as defendants and required to interplead when their claims are such that the plaintiff is or may be exposed to double or multiple liability. It is not ground for objection to the joinder 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 plaintiff avers that he is not liable in whole or in part to any or all of the claimants. A defendant exposed to similar liability may obtain such interpleader by way of cross-claim or counterclaim. The provisions of this section supplement and do not in any way limit the joinder of parties permitted in § 15-6-20.
Rule 22.Interpleader
Part IV: Parties · Last amended 1966 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceRule 15-6-22 lets a plaintiff exposed to competing claims join the rival claimants as defendants and force them to interplead even if their claims did not arise together, and it gives an exposed defendant the same option through a cross-claim or counterclaim.
Full Text of Rule 15-6-22
Plain-English Summary
Interpleader answers a specific problem: a plaintiff facing multiple people who each claim the same money or property, any one of whom could sue and win, leaving the plaintiff exposed to paying twice. Rule 15-6-22 lets that plaintiff pull the rival claimants into a single action as defendants and have them sort out the competing claims among themselves.
The rule removes the objections that might otherwise block this joinder. It does not matter that the claimants’ demands, or the titles they rely on, share no common origin, are not identical, or are adverse to and independent of one another. It also does not matter that the plaintiff denies owing anything to any or all of the claimants. None of that defeats the joinder.
A defendant facing the same kind of exposure has the same option, raised by way of a cross-claim or counterclaim rather than an original petition. Rule 15-6-22 closes by making clear it supplements the general joinder rule in § 15-6-20 rather than narrowing it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does interpleader let a South Dakota plaintiff do?
Rule 15-6-22 lets a plaintiff who is or may be exposed to double or multiple liability join the competing claimants as defendants and require them to interplead.
Can interpleader be used even when the rival claims did not arise from the same events?
Yes. Rule 15-6-22 says it is not a ground for objection that the claims, or the titles they depend on, lack a common origin, are not identical, or are adverse to and independent of one another.
Does the plaintiff have to admit owing money to interplead the claimants?
No. Rule 15-6-22 allows interpleader even where the plaintiff avers that they are not liable in whole or in part to any or all of the claimants.
Can a defendant use interpleader, or is it only available to plaintiffs?
A defendant exposed to similar liability may obtain interpleader too, by way of a cross-claim or counterclaim under Rule 15-6-22.
Does interpleader replace the general rule on joining parties?
No. Rule 15-6-22 states that it supplements and does not limit the joinder of parties permitted under § 15-6-20.
Amendment History
—SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, § 33.0412; SD RCP, Rule 22, as adopted by Sup. Ct. Order March 29, 1966, effective July 1, 1966.
Source & verification. Rule text and History are
reproduced verbatim from the South Dakota Codified Laws, published by the
South Dakota Legislative Research Council. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
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