Advisory Commission Comments to Rules 20.01-20.02

Advisory Commission Comments

Rule 19 deals with situations where certain parties must be joined. Rule 20 deals with permissive joinder. The rule is designed to allow a single suit to determine the rights and liabilities of all persons when those rights and liabilities arose out of the same transaction or occurrence and when a common question of law or fact exists among all parties. Where the liberality of the permissive joinder provisions works a hardship on a particular party or parties, the court is empowered to order separate trials or make other orders necessary to prevent delay or prejudice.