Legal Definitions - nonjoinder

Nonjoinder refers to a legal situation where a person or entity who should have been included as a party in a legal proceeding has been left out.

In the context of general litigation, nonjoinder typically arises when a "necessary party" is absent from a lawsuit. A necessary party is someone whose involvement is essential for the court to fully and fairly resolve the dispute. Without them, the court might be unable to grant complete relief to the existing parties, or the absent party's own interests could be unfairly prejudiced by the court's decision.

In patent law, nonjoinder specifically refers to the failure to name all individuals who made an inventive contribution as co-inventors on a patent application.

Here are some examples illustrating nonjoinder:

• Example 1 (Contract Dispute): Imagine a construction company, "BuildRight," enters into a contract with a property developer, "Urban Estates," to build a new apartment complex. The contract specifies that "City Bank" will provide the financing and hold the funds in escrow, releasing them upon project milestones. If BuildRight later sues Urban Estates for breach of contract, alleging unpaid invoices, but fails to include City Bank in the lawsuit, this could be a case of nonjoinder. City Bank is a necessary party because their role in holding and releasing funds is central to the contract's performance, and their absence might prevent the court from fully resolving the financial dispute or granting complete relief to either BuildRight or Urban Estates.

• Example 2 (Shared Property Damage): Three siblings, Maria, Carlos, and Elena, jointly own a family cabin. A severe storm causes significant damage to the cabin's roof. Maria decides to sue the insurance company, "SecureGuard," for failing to adequately cover the repair costs, but she files the lawsuit only in her name, without including Carlos or Elena. This would be an instance of nonjoinder. As co-owners of the property, Carlos and Elena have a direct and shared interest in the insurance claim and any potential settlement or judgment regarding the cabin's repairs. Their absence could prevent a complete resolution of the claim and potentially harm their rights.

• Example 3 (Patent Co-Inventorship): Dr. Anya Sharma and Dr. Ben Carter are research scientists who collaborate on developing a novel drug delivery system. They both contribute unique and significant inventive steps to the final design. When the university's technology transfer office prepares the patent application for this invention, only Dr. Anya Sharma is listed as the inventor. This constitutes nonjoinder in patent law. Dr. Ben Carter, as a co-inventor, should have been named on the patent application. Failing to include all true inventors can jeopardize the validity and enforceability of the patent.