Rule 22.Interpleader

Last amended December 1, 2007 · Last verified June 30, 2026

In one sentenceRule 22 allows interpleader: a party who may be exposed to double or multiple liability from competing claims to the same money or property may join all the claimants in one action and have the court decide who is entitled to it.

Full Text of Rule 22

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b)

(a) Grounds.

(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. The remedy this rule provides is in addition to—and does not supersede or limit—the remedy provided by 28 U.S.C. §§ 1335, 1397, and 2361. An action under those statutes must be conducted under these rules.

End

Amendment History

(Amended December 29, 1948, effective October 20, 1949; March 2, 1987, effective August 1, 1987; April 30, 2007, effective December 1, 2007.)

Plain-English Summary

Rule 22 solves the problem of the stakeholder caught in the middle. When several people claim the same fund or property — say an insurer facing rival claims to one policy — the holder risks paying twice or facing inconsistent judgments. Interpleader lets that holder bring all the claimants into a single case so the court can sort out who gets what.

A plaintiff may seek interpleader even while denying any liability to any claimant, and a defendant may obtain it through a counterclaim or crossclaim. Rule 22 interpleader rests on the ordinary jurisdiction rules; it operates alongside, and does not replace, the separate statutory interpleader available under federal law.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is interpleader?

A procedure that lets someone holding money or property claimed by several people join all the claimants in one suit so the court can decide who is entitled to it, avoiding double liability (Rule 22).

Does the stakeholder have to admit it owes something to use interpleader?

No. A plaintiff may seek interpleader under Rule 22 even while denying liability to any of the claimants — the point is to let the court sort out entitlement, not to concede the debt.

Source & verification. The rule text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the official Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Fed. R. Civ. P. 22), a public-domain work of the U.S. Government. Prescribed by the United States Supreme Court under the Rules Enabling Act. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified June 30, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: FRCP 22Fed. R. Civ. P. 22interpleadercompeting claims to the same fundstakeholder