Rule 23.2.Actions Relating to Unincorporated Associations

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

In one sentenceRule 23.2 allows a class action by or against the members of an unincorporated association that lacks the legal capacity to sue or be sued in its own name, when the named members will adequately protect the association’s interests.

Full Text of Rule 23.2

Text size

This rule applies to an action brought by or against the members of an unincorporated association as a class by naming certain members as representative parties. The action may be maintained only if it appears that those parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the association and its members. In conducting the action, the court may issue any appropriate orders corresponding with those in Rule 23(d), and the procedure for settlement, voluntary dismissal, or compromise must correspond with the procedure in Rule 23(e).

End

Amendment History

(Adopted February 28, 1966, effective July 1, 1966; amended April 30, 2007, effective December 1, 2007.)

Plain-English Summary

Some groups — certain clubs, unions, or other unincorporated associations — cannot sue or be sued in their own name under the governing law. Rule 23.2 provides a way to litigate their disputes anyway: a case may be brought by or against the members of such an association as a class, with named members representing the group.

The representatives must adequately protect the interests of the association and its members. The court applies the class-action machinery as appropriate, including its power to approve any settlement or dismissal, so that the absent members are protected much as they would be in an ordinary class action.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Rule 23.2 used?

When a case is brought by or against the members of an unincorporated association that has no capacity to sue or be sued in its own name, and named members can adequately represent the group.

Does the court still get to review a settlement in a Rule 23.2 case?

Yes. The court applies the class-action settlement and dismissal safeguards as appropriate, the same way it would in an ordinary class action, to protect absent members of the association.

Source & verification. The rule text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the official Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Fed. R. Civ. P. 23.2), 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 23.2Fed. R. Civ. P. 23.2unincorporated association class actionactions by or against members of an association