Rule 34.Substitution of Parties

A lawsuit does not automatically end just because something happens to one of the parties. Rule 34 starts from that principle: the action does not abate because of a party’s death, disability, or transfer of interest, as long as the underlying claim survives that event. When a party dies, the court will, on motion, let the case go forward — the deceased party’s own personal representative or successors in interest can step in and press the claim within a year of the death. The case can likewise continue against a deceased defendant’s personal representative or successors, though those successors can force the issue: if they mail the claimant the required notice and the claimant then waits more than 30 days without moving to substitute them in, the case cannot proceed against them. A similar one-year window applies when a party becomes disabled, allowing the case to continue by or against that party’s guardian, conservator, or successors in interest.

Some situations need no substitution motion at all. If one of several plaintiffs or defendants dies and the claim survives only for or against the remaining parties, the case continues with the survivors once a party signs and files a written statement noting the death, as Rule 17 requires. A transfer of interest works the same practical way: the case continues with the original party unless the court, on motion, orders the person who received the interest substituted in or added.

Public officers get special treatment. When someone sued in an official capacity dies, resigns, or otherwise leaves that office while the case is pending, the successor is automatically substituted — no motion required — and the case continues in the successor’s name; a misnomer that doesn’t affect anyone’s substantial rights is disregarded. An officer sued in an official capacity may be identified by title rather than by name, though the court can require the name too. Whoever moves for substitution serves the motion on existing parties the ordinary way and serves anyone not yet a party the way a summons is served.