Legal Definitions - Misjoinder

Misjoinder refers to the improper inclusion of a party (an individual or entity) in a civil or criminal lawsuit. It occurs when the claims or charges against that party are not sufficiently related to the claims or charges against the other parties in the same case, according to specific legal rules.

In essence, for parties to be properly joined in a single lawsuit, the legal issues and factual circumstances involving them must typically arise from the same event or series of related events, or share significant common questions of law or fact. If a party is misjoined, the court will usually remove that specific party from the case, rather than dismissing the entire lawsuit.

Here are a few examples to illustrate misjoinder:

• Example 1: Civil Lawsuit (Unrelated Personal Injuries)

  Imagine a situation where a pedestrian, Ms. Chen, is injured when she slips on a wet floor at "Grocery Mart." She decides to sue Grocery Mart for negligence. Separately, Mr. Davies, a customer at a completely different store, "Hardware Haven," is injured a month later when a shelf collapses on him. If Ms. Chen attempts to include Mr. Davies's claim against Hardware Haven in her lawsuit against Grocery Mart, this would be a case of misjoinder.

  This illustrates misjoinder because Ms. Chen's injury at Grocery Mart and Mr. Davies's injury at Hardware Haven are entirely separate incidents. They involve different locations, different dates, different defendants, and distinct sets of facts and legal questions. There is no common transaction, occurrence, or shared legal/factual issue that would justify joining them in a single lawsuit.

• Example 2: Criminal Lawsuit (Distinct Criminal Acts)

  Consider a scenario where three individuals, Alex, Ben, and Carla, are charged together with a conspiracy to commit credit card fraud that took place over several months. Separately, a fourth individual, David, is arrested for shoplifting from a department store, an incident completely unrelated to the credit card fraud scheme, occurring at a different time and place. If the prosecutor attempts to add David's shoplifting charge to the indictment against Alex, Ben, and Carla for credit card fraud, it would constitute misjoinder.

  This demonstrates misjoinder because David's alleged shoplifting offense is not of the same character, not based on the same act or transaction, and not connected with a common scheme as the credit card fraud charges against Alex, Ben, and Carla. The crimes are distinct and do not share the necessary factual or transactional link for proper joinder.

• Example 3: Civil Lawsuit (Separate Contractual Disputes)

  Suppose "BuildCo," a construction company, is sued by a homeowner, Mrs. Rodriguez, for breach of contract due to significant delays and defects in a home renovation project. At the same time, BuildCo is also involved in a separate dispute with a different client, "Office Solutions Inc.," regarding a payment disagreement for a commercial office building project completed a year earlier. If Mrs. Rodriguez tries to join Office Solutions Inc.'s payment dispute with her lawsuit against BuildCo for the home renovation, this would be misjoinder.

  This exemplifies misjoinder because while both lawsuits involve BuildCo, the claims arise from completely different contracts, different projects, different timelines, and different sets of facts. Mrs. Rodriguez's claim about home renovation defects and Office Solutions Inc.'s claim about payment for a commercial project do not stem from the same transaction or occurrence, nor do they share common questions of law or fact sufficient for them to be properly litigated together.