Law Commons^™

Amending The Other Party Joinder Amendments, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Comparatively little controversy attended the semi-annual meeting of the Civil Rules Advisory Committee which was held in late November, 1991. During that meeting, however, the Committee preliminarily considered the prospect of amending Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, which governs class actions.

The Advisory Committee is now contemplating possible revision of Rule 23 governing class actions. If that effort proceeds, the Committee should seriously consider reexamining Rules 19 and 24(a)(2), the other two party joinder provisions that were simultaneously changed and integrated with Rule 23 more than a quarter-century ago. This would enable the Committee to propose an integrated package …

Rule 19 And The Public Rights Exception To Party Joinder, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The increasing number of "public interest" lawsuits suggests that federal courts increasingly will confront difficult party joinder questions posed by such litigation. These problems arise because entities not involved in the litigation may have interests that may be adversely affected by the litigation. The joinder issue presented by such cases is whether rule 19 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires that the suit be dismissed or whether the litigation can continue without joinder of the absent entities. Numerous courts have dealt with the question by creating a 'public rights exception," which permits the litigation to continue even without …