Legal Definitions - joinder

Joinder refers to the legal process of combining multiple parties or multiple distinct legal claims into a single lawsuit. This is done to promote efficiency, avoid redundant trials, and ensure that all related issues or involved individuals can be addressed comprehensively within one court proceeding.

Here are some examples to illustrate joinder:

• Example 1: Joining Multiple Parties

  Imagine a situation where three cars are involved in a chain-reaction collision. Driver A sues Driver B for damages to their vehicle. However, Driver B believes that Driver C, who rear-ended Driver B's car, was primarily at fault. Driver B can use joinder to bring Driver C into the existing lawsuit. This allows the court to determine the responsibility of all three drivers in a single proceeding, rather than having separate trials for each potential claim.

• Example 2: Joining Multiple Claims

  Consider a tenant who is suing their landlord. The tenant has two main grievances: first, the landlord failed to make essential repairs as promised in the lease agreement (a breach of contract claim); and second, the landlord repeatedly entered the apartment without proper notice or permission (a trespass claim). Instead of filing two separate lawsuits, the tenant can use joinder to combine both the breach of contract claim and the trespass claim against the landlord into one comprehensive lawsuit. This allows the court to address all related issues between the tenant and landlord at once.

• Example 3: Joining Both Parties and Claims

  A group of homeowners in a new development discovers that their houses all suffer from similar severe structural defects due to faulty construction. They believe both the primary builder and a specific subcontractor are responsible. The homeowners can use joinder to file a single lawsuit where all affected homeowners are joined as plaintiffs, and both the builder and the subcontractor are joined as defendants. Within this same lawsuit, they can also join multiple claims, such as breach of contract, negligence, and fraud, against the responsible parties. This approach streamlines the legal process for everyone involved, addressing all related issues in one court action.