{"data":{"id":"us-mt/m.-r.-civ.-p.-22","jurisdiction":"us-mt","citation":"M. R. Civ. P. 22","heading":"Interpleader.","body":"(a) Joinder, cross-claim, or counterclaim.\n(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:\n(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\n(B) the plaintiff denies liability in whole or in part to any or all of the claimants.\n(2) By a Defendant. A defendant exposed to similar liability may seek interpleader through a crossclaim or counterclaim.\n(b) Substitution.\n(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:\n(A) before the defendant files an answer;\n(B) with due notice to the person not a party and to the plaintiff; and\n(C) upon affidavit that a person not a party to the action:\n(i) makes against the defendant a demand for the same debt or property, and\n(ii) is not colluding with the defendant.\n(2) Deposit of Debt or Delivery of Property. A defendant substituted under this rule must, at the court's discretion, either:\n(A) deposit in court the amount of the debt at issue; or\n(B) deliver the property at issue or its value to such person as the court may direct.\n(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.","path":["TITLE 25. CIVIL PROCEDURE","CHAPTER 20. RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE","IV. Parties"],"source_url":"https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0250/chapter_0200/part_0040/section_0220/0250-0200-0040-0220.html","current_through":"Montana Code Annotated 2025","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T04:50:09Z","sha256":"872753c9ac28af63b70091f3fafdb4a5278daa14fcf09e02dc4444e26c33cd7f","source_id":"us-mt","stale":false,"prev":"us-mt/m.-r.-civ.-p.-21","next":"us-mt/m.-r.-civ.-p.-23"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}