Current through January 1, 2025 · Last verified July 8, 2026
In one sentenceRule 22 lets a plaintiff facing competing claims to the same fund or property join the rival claimants as defendants and force them to litigate their claims against each other, even if those claims don't share a common origin, and lets a defendant use the same device through a crossclaim or counterclaim.
(1)By a plaintiff. Persons with claims that may expose a plaintiff to double or multiple liability may be joined as defendants and required to interplead. Joinder for interpleader is proper even though:
(A)the claims of the several claimants, or the titles on which their claims depend, lack a common origin or are adverse and independent rather than identical; or
(B)the plaintiff denies liability in whole or in part to any or all of the claimants.
(2)By a defendant. A defendant exposed to similar liability may seek interpleader through a crossclaim or counterclaim.
(b)Relation to other rules and statutes. This rule supplements— and does not limit—the joinder of parties allowed by Rule 20.
Amendment History
The current West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure took effect January 1, 2025, as part of a rewrite that modernized the rules’ numbering and structure. West Virginia 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 January 1, 2025 update; for the underlying adopting order and any later amendments, see the West Virginia Judiciary’s compiled rules page.
Plain-English Summary
Interpleader solves a specific problem: what happens when several people each claim the same money or property, and the person holding it doesn't want to pay twice or guess wrong? Rule 22 lets that person — typically an insurer, bank, or stakeholder — join all the rival claimants as defendants in one action and make them fight it out among themselves, rather than facing separate lawsuits from each one.
Joinder for interpleader works even if the claimants' positions have nothing in common with each other, or are directly adverse to one another, and even if the plaintiff denies owing anything to some or all of them. A defendant facing the same kind of exposure can use interpleader too, by raising it as a crossclaim or counterclaim rather than filing a new action.
Interpleader supplements the ordinary joinder rules — it doesn't cut back on what Rule 20 already allows.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who typically uses interpleader?
A stakeholder — often an insurer, bank, or similar party — holding a fund or property that multiple people claim, who wants to avoid the risk of being sued separately by each claimant and potentially paying twice.
Do the competing claims have to be related to each other?
No. Rule 22(a)(1) allows interpleader even when the claimants' claims lack a common origin or are directly adverse to one another.
Can a defendant use interpleader, or is it only for plaintiffs?
A defendant facing similar double-liability exposure can seek interpleader too, through a crossclaim or counterclaim.
Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the
official West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure (W. Va. R. Civ. P. 22). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia (W. Va. Const. art. VIII, § 3). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 8, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:interpleader actioncompeting claims to a fundstakeholder lawsuit