Joinder

Question 1

Is a joint tortfeasor subject to joint and several liability an indispensable party?

Answer 1

No, a joint tortfeasor subject to joint and several liability is not a person needed for just adjudication, so he is not an indispensable party.

Question 2

Compulsory Counterclaim

Answer 2

A compulsory counterclaim is a claim that arises out of the same transaction or occurrence as the plaintiff’s claim. It does not need to meet the jurisdictional amount requirement for diversity jurisdiction.

Question 3

Permissive Counterclaim

Answer 3

A permissive counterclaim is a claim that arises out of an unrelated transaction. It must meet the jurisdictional amount requirement for diversity jurisdiction.

Question 4

Permissive joinder

Answer 4

Parties may be (permissively) joined as plaintiffs or be joined as defendants: (i) some claim is made by each plaintiff and against each defendant relating to or arising out of the same series of occurrences; and (ii) there is a question of law or fact common to all the parties.

Question 5

Class action certification

Answer 5

In determining whether to certify a class action, the court will look to see if the class action requirements under the federal rules have been satisfied. The class must be so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable. The class must have common questions of law or fact. The named party’s interest must be typical of the class and his representative must be able to fairly and adequately represent the absent class members. The action must fall into a 23(b) category:

1. risk of inconsistent results or risk that separate trials would impair rights of all plaintiffs
2. defendant must have acted or refused to act on grounds applicable to the whole class and injunctive or declaratory relief would be appropriate
3. common questions of law or fact predominate the class action is superior method of adjudication

Question 6

Federal Interpleader Act

Answer 6

The Federal Interpleader Act provides special rules for dealing with subject matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction, and venue. Under the act, interpleaders can be brought if any two claimants are citizens of different states and the amount in controversy is $500 or more. Complete diversity is not required.