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Interpleader is a
civil procedure Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits (as opposed to procedures in criminal law matters). These rules govern how a lawsuit or case may be commenced; what ki ...
device that allows a
plaintiff A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the p ...
or a defendant to initiate a
lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
in order to compel two or more other parties to
litigate - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
a dispute. An interpleader action originates when the plaintiff holds property on behalf of another, but does not know to whom the property should be transferred. It is often used to resolve disputes arising under
insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...
contracts.


Terminology and overview

In an interpleader action, the party initiating the litigation, normally the plaintiff, is termed the '' stakeholder''. The money or other property in controversy is called the ''res'' (a
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
word meaning object or thing). All defendants having a possible interest in the subject matter of the case are called ''claimants''. In some jurisdictions, the plaintiff is referred to as the ''plaintiff-in-interpleader'' and each claimant a ''claimant-in-interpleader''. An interpleader proceeding has two stages. The first stage determines if the stakeholder is entitled to an interpleader and if he should be discharged from liability. The second stage is like an action at law to determine which of the claimants is entitled to the res.


Application

Suppose a person dies with a valid
life insurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death ...
policy in effect. The insurance company is ready, willing, and able to pay the policy proceeds in specified percentages to named beneficiaries as last directed by the policyholder, but becomes aware of a dispute among them and/or third parties as to who are the proper beneficiaries or the proper distribution of proceeds among the beneficiaries. Such a dispute commonly arises from interpersonal friction among the policyholder's survivors. One specific situation commonly seen in the reported cases is where the policyholder was allegedly murdered by a beneficiary (which would disqualify that beneficiary from receiving any proceeds). To resolve such a dispute, the insurance company can file an interpleader action. The insurance company is the stakeholder, the claimants are the persons who might be beneficiaries under the policy, and the cash value of the policy benefit is the ''res''. Under the proceeding as originally developed, the stakeholder would deposit the ''res'' with the court, and then the defendants would have their claims adjudicated by the court. Statutory modifications to the procedure, which vary by jurisdiction, sometimes allow the stakeholder to retain the ''res'' pending final disposition of the case. Typically, once the stakeholder deposits the ''res'' into the court (for example, the face value of the insurance policy), the stakeholder is released from the action and the claimants proceed against each other to determine which of them is legally entitled to the ''res''. A disinterested stakeholder is entitled to
costs In production, research, retail, and accounting, a cost is the value of money that has been used up to produce something or deliver a service, and hence is not available for use anymore. In business, the cost may be one of acquisition, in which ...
including
attorney's fee Attorney's fee is a chiefly United States term for compensation for legal services performed by an attorney ( lawyer or law firm) for a client, in or out of court. It may be an hourly, flat-rate or contingent fee. Recent studies suggest that when ...
s. Except for the denominations of the parties, the action proceeds for the most part as other civil lawsuits in the same jurisdiction. In some jurisdictions, the ''res'' will earn interest at the legal rate until disbursed. The successful claimant is entitled to the interest as well as the principal.


History


Origins in common law and equity

Interpleader had its origins as a civil procedure at
common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
, which was later adopted and expanded by the
Court of Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the Common law#History, common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over ...
in its equitable
jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...
. The common law procedure became obsolete over time and fell into disuse, but it remained active in the courts of equity. It originally applied to
bailee Bailment is a legal relationship in common law, where the owner transfers physical possession of personal property ("chattel") for a time, but retains ownership. The owner who surrenders custody to a property is called the "bailor" and the ind ...
s subject to multiple actions of
detinue In tort law, detinue () is an action to recover for the wrongful taking of personal property. It is initiated by an individual who claims to have a greater right to their immediate possession than the current possessor. For an action in detinue ...
, and
privity Privity is the legal term for a close, mutual, or successive relationship to the same right of property or the power to enforce a promise or warranty. It is an important concept in contract law. Contract law {{main article, Privity of contract The ...
was required either between the parties or in detinue, in order for the defendant to be able to sue for
garnishment Garnishment is a legal process for collecting a monetary judgment on behalf of a plaintiff from a defendant. Garnishment allows the plaintiff (the "garnishor") to take the money or property of the debtor from the person or institution that holds t ...
. In contrast, the equitable bill of interpleader required that: # The same thing, debt, or duty must be the ''res'' claimed by all the claimants; # All the adverse titles or claims must be dependent or derived from a common source; # The stakeholder must not have or claim any interest it the ''res'', # The stakeholder must have incurred no independent liability to any claimant, i.e. he must be perfectly indifferent between them.


Subsequent development in England and Wales

In 1831
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
passed the
Interpleader Act 1831 Interpleader is a civil procedure device that allows a plaintiff or a defendant to initiate a lawsuit in order to compel two or more other parties to litigate a dispute. An interpleader action originates when the plaintiff holds property on behal ...
that authorized a bill of interpleader to be brought in the common law courts (such as the
Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...
) by: :*
sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
s who have executed on goods or chattels that a third party makes a claim to, and defendants in actions of
assumpsit Assumpsit ("he has undertaken", from Latin, ''assumere''), or more fully, action in assumpsit, was a form of action at common law used to enforce what are now called obligations arising in tort and contract; and in some common law jurisdictions, u ...
, debt,
detinue In tort law, detinue () is an action to recover for the wrongful taking of personal property. It is initiated by an individual who claims to have a greater right to their immediate possession than the current possessor. For an action in detinue ...
or
trover Trover () is a form of lawsuit in common-law countries for recovery of damages for wrongful taking of personal property. Trover belongs to a series of remedies for such wrongful taking, its distinctive feature being recovery only for the value ...
, who: ::* do not claim any interest in the subject of the subject matter of the suit, but the right to them is claimed or supposed to belong to a third party who has sued or expect to sue for the subject matter of the suit; ::* has not colluded in any matter with such third party ::* is ready to bring into court or pay or depose of the subject matter of the action in such manner as the court directs. Statutory interpleader was extended by
Common Law Procedure Act 1860 Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...
, which allowed a defendant to interplead claimants even if the title of the claimants to the ''res'' have no common origin, but are adverse to and independent of one another. The statutory rules governing interpleader proceedings were replaced by rules of court that came into force upon the passage of the
Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873 The Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873 (sometimes known as the Judicature Act 1873) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1873. It reorganised the English court system to establish the High Court and the Court of Appeal, and ...
(as amended by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1875), which came to be known as Order 17 of the
Rules of the Supreme Court The Rules of the Supreme Court (RSC) were the rules which governed civil procedure in the Supreme Court of Judicature of England and Wales from its formation in 1883 until 1999. The RSC applied to all civil cases in the Supreme Court in England ...
. A similar provision was enacted in the
County Court Rules A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
, known as Order 33 in the Rules of 1981. In cases where a person was subject to multiple claims, the applicant had to show that he: :* claimed no interest in the subject-matter in dispute other than for charges or
costs In production, research, retail, and accounting, a cost is the value of money that has been used up to produce something or deliver a service, and hence is not available for use anymore. In business, the cost may be one of acquisition, in which ...
; :* did not collude with any of the claimants to that subject-matter; and :* was willing to pay or transfer that subject-matter into court or to dispose of it as the court may direct. As a result of the coming into force of Part 3 and Schedule 12 of the
Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provides for several diverse matters relating to the law, some of them being significant changes to the structure of the courts and fundamental ...
on 6 April 2014, Order 17 and Order 33 were replaced by the new Parts 83-86 of the
Civil Procedure Rules The Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) were introduced in 1997 as per the Civil Procedure Act 1997 by the Civil Procedure Rule Committee and are the rules of civil procedure used by the Court of Appeal, High Court of Justice, and County Courts in civil ...
. This replaced the interpleader proceedings previously governed by the court rules by the procedure of "enforcement by taking control of goods" under newly passed regulations. In addition, s. 65 of the 2007 Act declared: Procedures are in effect for claims where: :(a) a person makes an application to the court claiming that goods of which control has been taken belong to that person and not to the debtor; :(b) a person makes an application to the court claiming that goods, money or chattels taken or intended to be taken under a
writ of execution A writ of execution (also known as an execution) is a court order granted to put in force a judgment of possession obtained by a plaintiff from a court. When issuing a writ of execution, a court typically will order a sheriff or other similar off ...
or the proceeds or value of such goods or chattels belong to that person and not to the debtor; and :(c) a debtor, whose goods have been made subject to an enforcement power under an enactment, writ or warrant of control or have been taken or are intended to be taken under a writ of execution, claims that such goods or any of them are exempt goods. The 2014 amendments have proved to be problematic, in that they now fail to cover a situation where: :* a third party has given notice that they believe they are entitled to the goods under Rule 85.4(1), :* a counter-notice is duly given by the creditor under Rule 85.4(3), but :* the third party then fails to commence the application to the court which is required under Rule 85.5, and :* the provisions of Rule 85.5 impose no time limit by which the application under that Rule must be made by the creditor or other party claiming an interest. In February 2018, several
High Court enforcement officer A High Court enforcement officer (HCEO) is an officer of the High Court of England and Wales responsible for enforcing judgements of the High Court, often by seizing goods or repossessing property. Prior to 2004, HCEOs were known as ''sheriff's ...
s asked the
Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...
for directions as to how to proceed in such circumstances, and the
Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
ruled that the repeal of Rule 17 had the effect of reviving the equitable form of interpleader proceedings, as the 2007 Act did not expressly abolish the interpleader action itself, and "interpleader statutes are not at all to limit or affect the equitable jurisdiction of the court to entertain an interpleader suit or action."


In the United States

Formerly a plaintiff had to disavow any claim to the ''res'' in order to avail himself of the interpleader remedy, but this requirement has also been relaxed or abolished in most jurisdictions by there being
Bill in the Nature of Interpleader
rather than
strict bill of interpleader
A plaintiff may now argue that neither of the claimants has a right to the property at issue. For example, a person dies with a life insurance policy that excludes coverage for suicide. Two people come forward claiming to be the beneficiary named in the policy. The insurance company believes that the deceased committed suicide, but the claimants believe the death was by accident. The insurance company could interplead the two claimants and simultaneously deny the claims. The
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
ruled in '' New York Life v. Dunlevy'' , that for a claimant to be bound by an interpleader that party must be served process in a way that obtains
personal jurisdiction Personal jurisdiction is a court's jurisdiction over the ''parties'', as determined by the facts in evidence, which bind the parties to a lawsuit, as opposed to subject-matter jurisdiction, which is jurisdiction over the ''law'' involved in the ...
. In 1922 the United States Supreme Court in '' Liberty Oil Co. v. Condon Nat. Bank'' sustained that a defensive interpeader in an action at law in federal court could be taken under Judicial Code section 274b added by that authorized the interposing of equitable defenses in actions at law. The Federal Interpleader Act of 1917 was enacted by the
64th United States Congress The 64th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1915, to M ...
approved February 22, 1917 to overcome the problem with an interpleader when the claimants live in different states raised in ''New York Life v. Dunlevy''. The Federal Interpleader Act of 1917 allowed an
insurance company Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...
, or
fraternal benefit society A benefit society, fraternal benefit society, fraternal benefit order, friendly society, or mutual aid society is a society, an organization or a voluntary association formed to provide mutual aid, benefit, for instance insurance for relief fr ...
subject to multiple claims on the same
policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...
to file a suit in
equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership * Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the dif ...
by a bill of interpleader in
United States district court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...
s and providing nationwide
service of process Service of process is the procedure by which a party to a lawsuit gives an appropriate notice of initial legal action to another party (such as a defendant), court, or administrative body in an effort to exercise jurisdiction over that person s ...
. The policy must have a value of at least $500 claimed were claimed or may be claimed by adverse claimants; which is less than the
amount in controversy Amount in controversy (sometimes called jurisdictional amount) is a term used in civil procedure to denote the amount at stake in a lawsuit, in particular in connection with a requirement that persons seeking to bring a lawsuit in a particular cour ...
of $3,000 in Judicial Code §48(1) then required for general
diversity jurisdiction In the law of the United States, diversity jurisdiction is a form of subject-matter jurisdiction that gives United States federal courts, U.S. federal courts the power to hear lawsuits that do not involve a federal question jurisdiction, federal ...
and two or more of the beneficiaries must live in different states. In 1926 it was repealed and replaced by, approved May 8, 1926, which added to those who can bring suit
casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...
company and
surety In finance, a surety , surety bond or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a surety or guarantor to pay ...
company, empowered the court to enjoin claimant from proceeding in any state or other federal court on the same liability, adding provisions as to the proper venue for the interpleader in certain cases but required that there must be actual claims by eliminating the words "may claim" that were in the 1917 act. In 1936 the Federal Interpeader Act was again repealed and replaced by the Federal Interpleader Act of 1936, , approved Jan. 20, 1936, drafted by
Zechariah Chafee Zechariah Chafee Jr. (December 7, 1885 – February 8, 1957) was an American judicial philosopher and civil rights advocate, described as "possibly the most important First Amendment scholar of the first half of the twentieth century" by Richar ...
which codified it in as United States Judicial Code §41(26), and established the modern statutory interpleader allowing suit to be brought by any person, firm, corporation, association or society having custody of money or property or insurance policy or instrument valued at $500 or more which there are two or more adverse claimant who are citizens of different states, whether or not the claims have common origins, identical, adverse or independent of each other, and allowed it to be an equitable defense in actions at
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
, Judicial Code §274b. When the United States Judicial Code was enacted into
United States Code In the law of the United States, the Code of Laws of the United States of America (variously abbreviated to Code of Laws of the United States, United States Code, U.S. Code, U.S.C., or USC) is the official compilation and codification of the ...
as
positive law Positive laws ( la, links=no, ius positum) are human-made laws that oblige or specify an action. Positive law also describes the establishment of specific rights for an individual or group. Etymologically, the name derives from the verb ''to posit ...
in 1948, approved June 25, 1948, it was reconstituted as , , and . Federal courts have held that because of the deposit of the ''res'' with the court an interpleader action is an action to determine the validity of competing claims to identified property that served may be under which authorize other forms of service to obtain ''
in rem jurisdiction ''In rem'' jurisdiction ("power about or against 'the thing) is a legal term describing the power a court may exercise over property (either real or personal) or a "status" against a person over whom the court does not have ''in personam'' jurisdi ...
'' over absent defendants.


Different types of interpleader in U.S. federal practice

There are two specific types of interpleader actions in the
United States federal courts The federal judiciary of the United States is one of the three branches of the federal government of the United States organized under the Constitution of the United States, United States Constitution and Law of the United States, laws of the fed ...
. Statutory Interpleader governed by , and Rule Interpleader established by
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (officially abbreviated Fed. R. Civ. P.; colloquially FRCP) govern civil procedure in United States district courts. The FRCP are promulgated by the United States Supreme Court pursuant to the Rules Enabling ...
.


Statutory interpleader

* allows an individual with a stake which is, or may be, claimed by two or more adverse claimants, to interplead those claimants and bring them into a singular action. * Jurisdiction: Under , a person anywhere within the United States may be served by the stakeholder * Diversity:
Diversity jurisdiction In the law of the United States, diversity jurisdiction is a form of subject-matter jurisdiction that gives United States federal courts, U.S. federal courts the power to hear lawsuits that do not involve a federal question jurisdiction, federal ...
is satisfied as long as there are two claimants of different states . For example, if you have three claimants, two of which are residents of Florida, and one from California, diversity would be satisfied. The diversity of the stakeholder, however, is irrelevant to the rule. This is known as minimal diversity and was held to be permissible under Article III, § 2 of the
United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...
, '' State Farm Fire and Cas. Co. v. Tashire'' * Amount in controversy: The stake in the claim (
amount in controversy Amount in controversy (sometimes called jurisdictional amount) is a term used in civil procedure to denote the amount at stake in a lawsuit, in particular in connection with a requirement that persons seeking to bring a lawsuit in a particular cour ...
) must be ''greater than or equal'' to $500 in value , opposed to the Rule Interpleader requirement of any amount ''exceeding'' $75,000 in diversity based actions . * Venue: The venue for a Statutory Interpleader is in the Judicial District in which one of the claimants resides, . * Deposit: A Statutory Interpleader action is commenced by the stakeholder who must initially deposit with the court, the
amount in controversy Amount in controversy (sometimes called jurisdictional amount) is a term used in civil procedure to denote the amount at stake in a lawsuit, in particular in connection with a requirement that persons seeking to bring a lawsuit in a particular cour ...
, or post a specific bond with the court, . The stakeholder may, however, at trial claim they don't owe money to the claimants at all, since the action can be in the nature of interpleader. Such an action may be entertained although the titles or claims of the conflicting claimants do not have a common origin, or are not identical, but are adverse to and independent of one another. . * Injunction: Once the statutory interpleader action is commenced, the court may restrict all claimants from starting or continuing any action which would affect the stake, make such injunction permanent, and discharge the stakeholder from liability. . Such
injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in pa ...
is not governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule . The may claim language added in 1948 codification to
Title 28 of the United States Code Title 28 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) is the portion of the United States Code (federal statutory law) that governs the federal judicial system. It is divided into six parts: * Part I: Organization of Courts * Part II: Department of Jus ...
in the definitions of claim allow interpleader for unliquidated claims, such as multiple claimant to a
liability insurance Liability insurance (also called third-party insurance) is a part of the general insurance system of risk financing to protect the purchaser (the "insured") from the risks of liabilities imposed by lawsuits and similar claims and protects the i ...
policy injured in an accident before they are reduced to judgment or settled, however the injunction may only restrain the claimants from suits making claims against the ''res'' not suits to liquidate the claim or against third parties. The procedures for a Statutory Interpleader action are governed by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 22(b).


Rule interpleader

(Current as of December 1, 2011) Interpleader is also allowed by the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (officially abbreviated Fed. R. Civ. P.; colloquially FRCP) govern civil procedure in United States district courts. The FRCP are promulgated by the United States Supreme Court pursuant to the Rules Enabling ...
. Rule 22 is known as rule interpleader. Rule interpleader provides a remedy for any person who is, or may be exposed to double or multiple liabilities. The stakeholder may invoke Rule 22 as a plaintiff, or by counter-claiming in an action already started against him by one, or more claimants. There are specific differences between Statutory Interpleader, and Rule Interpleader: * Jurisdiction: Rule Interpleader does not provide a basis for jurisdiction in the
United States District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...
; there must be an independent basis of jurisdiction under
Title 28 of the United States Code Title 28 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) is the portion of the United States Code (federal statutory law) that governs the federal judicial system. It is divided into six parts: * Part I: Organization of Courts * Part II: Department of Jus ...
, i.e.,
diversity jurisdiction In the law of the United States, diversity jurisdiction is a form of subject-matter jurisdiction that gives United States federal courts, U.S. federal courts the power to hear lawsuits that do not involve a federal question jurisdiction, federal ...
which requires that the claimants have complete diversity between the stakeholder, and all claimants; but not between the claimants, or
federal question jurisdiction In United States law, federal question jurisdiction is a type of subject-matter jurisdiction that gives United States federal courts the power to hear civil cases where the plaintiff alleges a violation of the United States Constitution, federa ...
i.e., when a claim is based on federal law; or there is a specific statute authorizing interpleader i.e., or . * Service: There is no nationwide service of process as in a statutory interpleader action. Service must be carried out within the state where the court sits, or according to the
long-arm statute Long-arm jurisdiction is the ability of local courts to exercise jurisdiction over foreign ("foreign" meaning out of jurisdiction, whether a state, province, or nation) defendants, whether on a statutory basis or through a court's inherent jurisdi ...
of the state, Rul
4(k)(1)
* Amount in Controversy: The amount in controversy must exceed $75,000 if based on diversity jurisdiction meeting the requirements of . * Deposit: There is no deposit required to be made with the court for a Rule 22 interpleader action. The stakeholder may claim that they are not liable in whole, or part, to any or all the claimants, Rule 22(a)(1)(B). However for the stakeholder to be discharged he must deposit the money or property with the court pursuant to Rule .


Bankruptcy

In
bankruptcy court United States bankruptcy courts are courts created under Article I of the United States Constitution. The current system of bankruptcy courts was created by the United States Congress in 1978, effective April 1, 1984. United States bankruptcy c ...
interpleader under
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (officially abbreviated Fed. R. Civ. P.; colloquially FRCP) govern civil procedure in United States district courts. The FRCP are promulgated by the United States Supreme Court pursuant to the Rules Enabling ...
may be maintained as an
adversary proceeding An adversary proceeding in bankruptcy is a type of lawsuit in the American legal system. It is distinguished from other suits by being filed a United States bankruptcy court in connection with a larger bankruptcy proceeding. Procedure Adversary p ...
under
Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure The Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure (abbreviated Fed. R. Bankr. P. or FRBP) are a set of rules promulgated by the Supreme Court of the United States under the Rules Enabling Act, directing procedures in the United States bankruptcy courts. ...
.


Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 22


Interpleader in U.S. State practice

The
Uniform Commercial Code The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), first published in 1952, is one of a number of Uniform Acts that have been established as law with the goal of harmonizing the laws of sales and other commercial transactions across the United States through UC ...
br>§7-603
adopted in all 50 of the states of the United States provides that a
bailee Bailment is a legal relationship in common law, where the owner transfers physical possession of personal property ("chattel") for a time, but retains ownership. The owner who surrenders custody to a property is called the "bailor" and the ind ...
when more than one person claims title to or possession of the goods under document of title (
warehouse receipt A warehouse receipt is a document that provides proof of ownership of commodities (e.g., bars of copper) that are stored in a warehouse, vault, or depository for safekeeping. Warehouse receipts may be negotiable or non-negotiable. Negotiable wareh ...
or
bill of lading A bill of lading () (sometimes abbreviated as B/L or BOL) is a document issued by a carrier (or their agent) to acknowledge receipt of cargo for shipment. Although the term historically related only to carriage by sea, a bill of lading may toda ...
) may bring an interpleader as an original action or as a defense to a suit for nondelivery. In
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
interpleader is called concursus. In most states there are statutes or court rules that provide for interpleader similar to the federal rules.


See also

*
Multiplepoinding In Scots law, multiplepoinding, (pronounced as if spelled multiple·pinnding) was a form of action by which conflicting claims to the same fund or property are determined. The action is brought either by the holder or by a claimant in his name. ...
, a similar form of action in
Scots law Scots law () is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Ireland l ...


Further reading

* * *


References


External links

* {{cite BAILII, litigants=Celador Radio Ltd v Rancho Steak House Ltd (Equitable Interpleader - Enforcement), link=, court=EWHC, division=QB, year=2018, num=219, parallelcite=, date=16 February 2018 Civil procedure Equity (law) Equitable defenses