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`Joinder
`The union in one lawsuit of multiple parties who have the same rights or against whom rights are claimed as coplaintiffs or
`codefendants. The combination in one lawsuit of two or more causes of action, or grounds for relief. At Common Law the
`acceptance by opposing parties that a particular issue is in dispute.
`Joinder of Parties
`
`For two or more persons to join together as coplaintiffs or codefendants in a lawsuit, they generally must share similar rights or
`liabilities. At common law a person could not be added as a plaintiff unless that person, jointly with the other plaintiffs, was entitled
`to the whole recovery. A person could not be added as a defendant unless that person, jointly with the other defendants, was liable
`for the entire demand. To be more efficient, reduce costs, and reduce litigation, the modern Practice of Law does not proceed on
`the same principles.Permissive Joinder According to modern law, a person who has no material interest in the subject of the
`litigation or in the relief demanded is not a proper party and may not be part of the legal action. A proper party is one who may be
`joined in the action but whose failure to do so does not prevent the court from hearing the case and settling the controversy. A
`proper party may be added to a lawsuit through a process called permissive joinder.
`
`The statutes that govern permissive joinder generally provide that plaintiffs may unite in one action if they claim a right to relief for
`injuries arising from the same occurrence or transaction. Likewise, persons may join as defendants in an action if assertions made
`against them claim a right to relief for damages emerging from the same transaction or occurrence.
`
`Compulsory Joinder If a court is being asked to decide the rights of a person who is not named as a party to the lawsuit, that
`party must be joined in the lawsuit or else the court may not hear the case. Such persons are deemed indispensable or necessary
`parties, and they may be added as parties to the lawsuit through a process termed compulsory joinder. For reasons of Equity and
`convenience, it is often best for the court not to proceed if an indispensable party is absent and cannot be joined. In some
`circumstances, however, a court may still hear a matter if an indispensable party is absent, but its judgment can affect only the
`interests of the parties before it.
`
`To determine whether a person is an indispensable party, the court must carefully examine the facts of the case, the relief sought,
`and the nature and extent of the absent person's interest in the controversy raised in the lawsuit. The Federal Rules of Civil
`Procedure and many state rules give courts flexible guidelines for this determination. These rules provide that the court should look
`to various pragmatic factors and determine whether it is better to dismiss the action owing to the absence of a party, or to proceed
`without that party. Specifically, the court should consider whether complete relief could still be accorded the parties who are
`present, whether the absence of the particular party impairs that party's ability to protect an interest, or whether the absence will
`leave a party that is present subject to a substantial risk of incurring multiple obligations. If the court decides, based on principles of
`equity and good conscience, that it is best to dismiss the action rather than hear it without the absent party joining the lawsuit, then
`the absent party is an indispensable party and the case is said to be dismissed for nonjoinder. For example, if one party to a
`contract asks the court to determine his rights under the contract, and the other party to the contract is absent and cannot be
`joined, then the court will refuse to hear the case because the other party is indispensable to determining rights under the contract.
`Joinder of Action
`
`Under certain circumstances a plaintiff may join several causes of action, or claims for relief, in one complaint, declaration, or
`petition, even though each could have been the basis for a separate lawsuit. This procedure is not the same as the common one in
`which a plaintiff relies on more than one theory of recovery or mode of redress to correct a single wrong.
`
`To determine if the plaintiff is joining separate causes of action, as opposed to merely pursuing more than one means of redress,
`some courts look to whether the plaintiff is seeking to enforce more than one distinct primary right or whether the complaint
`addresses more than one subject of controversy. Other courts look to whether the claims emanate from a single occurrence or
`transaction. If the court's inquiry shows that a plaintiff is attempting to join several causes of action into one lawsuit, the court must
`look to the applicable court rules and statutes to determine if such a joining is permissible.
`
`Modern statutes and rules of practice governing joinder of causes of action vary by jurisdiction. In general, however, they are liberal
`and encourage joinder when it promotes efficiency in the justice system. For example, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide
`that a plaintiff may join in one suit as many claims as she or he has against an opposing party. Some state rules are similarly
`broad. Many states provide that the court, on its own motion or on the motion of a party, may consolidate similarly related cases.
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`Joinder is not always favored by modern rules of court and statutes. Some statutes will not permit the joinder of causes of action
`that require different places of trial. Also, the various joinder statutes generally provide that inconsistent causes of action—that is,
`ones that disprove or defeat each other—cannot be joined in the same lawsuit. For example, a plaintiff may not in a single suit rely
`on a contract as valid and also treat the same contract as rescinded. However, contract and TORT actions may be combined in one
`suit when they arise out of the same occurrence or transaction and are not inconsistent.
`
`Misjoinder Misjoinder is an objection that may be made when a plaintiff joins separate causes of action that cannot be joined
`according to the applicable law. Some states require the plaintiff to decide which of the misjoined claims he or she wants to pursue.
`Other states allow the court to sever the misjoined claims into separate actions.
`Joinder of Issue
`
`At common law joinder of issue occurs when one party pleads that an allegation is true and the opposing party denies it, such that
`both parties are accepting that the particular issue is in dispute.
`
`Further readings
`Oakley, John B. 2001. "Joinder and Jurisdiction in the Federal District Courts: The State of the Union of Rules and Statutes."
`Tennessee Law Review 69 (fall): 35–64.
`
`Zwolinski, Rachel Lynne. 2002. "Joinder and Severance." Georgetown Law Journal 90 (May): 1373–94.
`
`Cross-references
`Civil Procedure.
`
`West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
`
`joinder n. the joining together of several lawsuits or several parties all in one lawsuit, provided that the legal issues and the
`factual situation are the same for all plaintiffs and defendants. Joinder requires 1) that one of the parties to one of the lawsuits
`make a motion to join the suits and the parties in a single case; 2) notice must be made to all parties; 3) there must be a hearing
`before a judge to show why joinder will not cause prejudice (hurt) to any of the parties to the existing lawsuits; and 4) an order of
`the judge permitting joinder. Joinder may be mandatory if a person necessary to a fair result was not included in the original
`lawsuit, or it may be permissive if joining the cases together is only a matter of convenience or economy. (See: mandatory joinder,
`misjoinder)
`
`Copyright © 1981-2005 by Gerald N. Hill and Kathleen T. Hill. All Right reserved.
`
`joinder adjective assemblage, bringing together, combination, concatenation, conjugation, connection, coupling, joining, junction,
`linkage, linking, unification, union
`Associated concepts: fraudulent joinder, improper joinder, joinder of issue, joinder of parties, misjoinder, permissive joinder,
`severance
`
`See also: attachment, merger
`Burton's Legal Thesaurus, 4E. Copyright © 2007 by William C. Burton. Used with permission of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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`Copyright © 2014 Farlex, Inc.Source URL: http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/joinder
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