Rule 22. Interpleader.
(a) Joinder, cross-claim, or counterclaim.
(1) By a Plaintiff. Persons with claims that may expose a plaintiff to double or multiple liability may be joined as defendants and required to interplead. Joinder for interpleader is proper even though:
(A) the claims of the several claimants, or the titles on which their claims depend, lack a common origin or are adverse and independent rather than identical; or
(B) the plaintiff denies liability in whole or in part to any or all of the claimants.
(2) By a Defendant. A defendant exposed to similar liability may seek interpleader through a crossclaim or counterclaim.
(b) Substitution.
(1) Grounds. A defendant in a contract or property action may substitute as the defendant a person who is not a party and who demands the same debt or property at issue in the action, upon motion made:
(A) before the defendant files an answer;
(B) with due notice to the person not a party and to the plaintiff; and
(C) upon affidavit that a person not a party to the action:
(i) makes against the defendant a demand for the same debt or property, and
(ii) is not colluding with the defendant.
(2) Deposit of Debt or Delivery of Property. A defendant substituted under this rule must, at the court's discretion, either:
(A) deposit in court the amount of the debt at issue; or
(B) deliver the property at issue or its value to such person as the court may direct.
(3) Discharge of Liability. A defendant's deposit of debt or delivery of property under subsection (b)(2) discharges the defendant's liability to either the plaintiff or the substitute defendant.
History: En. Sup. Ct. Ord. No. AF 07-0157, April 26, 2011, eff. Oct. 1, 2011.
Structure Montana Code Annotated