Also known as: fail to join a necessary party · failing to join a necessary party · failure to join necessary parties · nonjoinder of necessary party
Written by attorneys — see sources below.
A procedural defect arising when a plaintiff omits from an action a person whose presence is required for a just adjudication. The defect exists when the absent person claims an interest relating to the subject of the action and disposition in the person's absence may impair that interest or leave other parties subject to inconsistent obligations. Courts may order joinder if feasible or dismiss the action after weighing specified factors.
Falcon Dynamics held a mortgage on an office building owned by Freeman Engineering. After default Falcon Dynamics filed a foreclosure action naming only Freeman Engineering. Ferrum Metals held a recorded option to purchase the building but received no notice and was not joined. The court entered judgment and the property sold. Ferrum Metals may still enforce its option against the purchaser because the omitted party retained its interest.
Francesca Fowler sued the surgeon and hospital after screws from a spinal device broke. She omitted the device manufacturer from the complaint. The manufacturer later moved to dismiss the action for failure to join a necessary party. The court denied the motion because the manufacturer was not indispensable under the governing rule.
In October 1986, petitioner Temple, a Mississippi resident, underwent surgery at St. Charles General Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana, performed by Dr. S. Henry LaRocca. During the procedure, a plate and screw device manufactured by respondent Synthes Corp., Ltd. (U. S. A.), a Pennsylvania corporation, was implanted in Temple's lower spine. Following the surgery, the device's screws broke off inside Temple's back. Temple filed a diversity action against Synthes in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, alleging defective design and manufacture of the device. At the same time, Temple filed a state administrative proceeding against Dr. LaRocca and the hospital for malpractice and negligence. At the conclusion of the administrative proceeding, Temple filed suit against the doctor and the hospital in Louisiana state court. Synthes moved to dismiss the federal action for failure to join necessary parties under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 19, rather than filing a third-party complaint under Rule 14(a). The District Court ordered Temple to join the doctor and hospital as defendants within twenty days or face dismissal, emphasizing judicial economy. When Temple did not comply, the court dismissed the suit with prejudice. Temple appealed the dismissal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which affirmed the District Court's decision. The Fifth Circuit concluded that separate litigations would be prejudicial to the defendants due to potentially overlapping and conflicting defenses. A petition for rehearing was denied. Temple then petitioned the Supreme Court of the United States for a writ of certiorari.
View caseThe unjoined junior lienholder retains its interest because the foreclosure judgment cannot extinguish rights of a necessary party who was never joined or notified. The sale remains valid between the mortgagee and mortgagor but the junior interest survives and binds the purchaser.
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No. Courts first determine whether the absent person is necessary under Rule 19. If joinder is feasible the court orders it. Only if joinder is not feasible does the court weigh prejudice and other factors to decide whether to proceed or dismiss.
Living issue are necessary parties when the action challenges the validity of the estate or may result in defeat of their interest. Their presence protects the remainder from being extinguished without an opportunity to be heard.
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No. A recorded option holder is a necessary party whose interest survives the sale when the holder was never joined. The purchaser takes the property subject to the unextinguished option.
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