Also known as: necessary party
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A party whose presence in litigation is required so that the court can accord complete relief among existing parties or so that the absent person's claimed interest relating to the subject of the action will not be impaired or leave other parties subject to inconsistent obligations.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Liberty Trust initiates foreclosure on Sun Charity's building after default. Atlantic Coalition holds a recorded option to purchase upon default, and several tenants hold recorded leases. Liberty Trust names only Sun Charity. The omitted parties' recorded interests survive the sale because they were not joined and given notice.
A remainderman challenges the validity of a fee tail estate created by a will. The first donee's living issue hold interests that could be defeated if the challenge succeeds. The court requires joinder of those issue before it will adjudicate the estate's validity.
Plaintiffs seek certification of a limited-fund class against Fibreboard to resolve asbestos claims. The court examines whether absent claimants whose interests would be affected by the fund allocation must be joined as necessary parties before any binding resolution can occur.
A married woman asserts rights in property adverse to her husband. She brings an equity action and joins all persons holding interests that could be affected by the decree. The court proceeds only after confirming that every necessary party has been brought before it.
Allapattah services sues Exxon Mobil on state-law claims. Additional plaintiffs whose claims arise from the same transaction seek to join. The court determines that Rule 19 necessary-party status does not destroy supplemental jurisdiction over those plaintiffs.
A deputy commissioner awards compensation under the Longshoremen's Act. The employer challenges the award on constitutional grounds. The court holds that all persons whose interests are directly affected by the administrative order must be joined as necessary parties before the award can be enforced.
Dismissal occurs only when the absent person is indispensable and joinder is not feasible. The court first determines whether the person is necessary under Rule 19(a). If joinder is impossible for jurisdictional reasons, the court then weighs the factors in Rule 19(b) to decide whether to proceed or dismiss.
Supporting sources
Yes. In a foreclosure proceeding the mortgagor and junior lienholders holding recorded interests are necessary parties. They must receive notice so that their interests can be extinguished by the sale. Failure to join them leaves those interests unaffected.
…the duty of advising the officers of the State upon the law, and is made by Section 23-1107 of the Tennessee Code Annotated a necessary party defendant in any declaratory judgment action where the constitutionality of statutes of the State of Tennessee is attacked, and he is ex-officio charged, together with the Governor and the…
…rule: A nondiverse plaintiff might be omitted intentionally from the original action, but joined later under Rule 19 as a necessary party
…husband, she cannot maintain a suit against him at law; but in equity she may do so, and against all others who may be proper or necessary parties
…earliest days of English law, class actions as we recognize them today developed as an exception to the formal rigidity of the necessary parties
…morals, or calculated to injure the State or its citizens, shall be recognized and enforced here, if we have jurisdiction of all necessary parties
Supporting sources
A party joined as necessary under Rule 19 does not destroy supplemental jurisdiction even when that party would destroy complete diversity if joined as a plaintiff. Section 1367(a) supplies jurisdiction over such claims provided they form part of the same constitutional case.
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Yes. Living issue of the first donee in tail are necessary parties in any litigation that may defeat their interest in the estate. Their joinder is required before the court will adjudicate the validity of the fee tail.
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Necessary parties must be joined if feasible because their absence prevents complete relief or impairs their interest. Indispensable parties are those whose absence requires dismissal of the action because the court cannot proceed in equity and good conscience without them.
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