Rule 43.Interpleader
Last verified June 28, 2026
Full Text of Rule 43
Plain-English Summary
Rule 43 is the interpleader rule. When a plaintiff holds something — money or property — that several parties claim, and those competing claims could expose the plaintiff to double or multiple liability, the plaintiff may join the claimants and require them to interplead, sorting out who is entitled among themselves.
The claims need not share a common origin or be consistent; it is no objection that they are adverse and independent, or that the plaintiff says it owes nothing. A defendant facing the same risk may obtain interpleader by cross-claim or counterclaim. The rule adds to, and does not limit, the other joinder rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is interpleader under Rule 43?
A procedure that lets a party exposed to double or multiple liability from competing claimants join those claimants and make them litigate their claims among themselves. A defendant may obtain it by cross-claim or counterclaim.
Must the competing claims share a common origin to interplead them?
No. Rule 43 says it is no objection that the claims, or the titles they rest on, lack a common origin, or that they are adverse to and independent of one another.
Can a stakeholder use interpleader while denying it owes anything?
Yes. Rule 43 allows interpleader even when the plaintiff claims it is not liable, in whole or in part, to any or all of the claimants.