Glover v. Narick

400 S.E.2d 816, 184 W. Va. 381
West Virginia Supreme Court·Decided January 10, 1991·No. 19717·Published·Cited by 21 cases

Opinions

MILLER, Justice:

In this original proceeding in prohibition, we are asked to determine whether the Circuit Court of Wetzel County exceeded its legitimate powers in ordering petitioner Darren Glover, an infant, to be joined as a party in a civil action brought by his mother, petitioner Debra Lyn Glover. We grant the writ of prohibition.

The petitioners were injured on April 25, 1987, as the result of an automobile accident in Wetzel County in which a vehicle owned by Dolly J. Beagle and driven by her son, James M. Simpkins, collided with the Glover car, driven by Debra and in which Darren was a passenger. On April 24, 1989, Debra Glover filed suit in the Circuit Court of Wetzel County against Mr. Simp-kins and Mrs. Beagle to recover damages for the personal injuries and property damage she suffered as a result of the accident. Debra also sought to recover for the medical expenses she incurred in the treatment of Darren’s injuries and for her loss of his services and consortium. No action was brought on behalf of Darren, who was eleven years old at the time of the accident.

On January 7, 1990, the defendants below filed a motion to compel the addition of Darren as a party to his mother’s civil action. After hearing the arguments of the parties, the circuit court, by order dated April 11, 1990, granted the motion. The petitioners subsequently instituted this proceeding in prohibition to prevent Darren’s joinder.

The key question in this proceeding is whether Darren is subject to compulsory joinder under Rule 19(a) of the West Virgi[385] nia Rules of Civil Procedure.1 This rule, which is substantially similar to Rule 19(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, premises the decision to require or excuse joinder of an absent person on the desirability of doing so under the facts and circumstances of each particular case.2

We have recognized a two-pronged test for determining the applicability of Rule 19. In Wachter v. Dostert, 172 W.Va. 93, 96, 303 S.E.2d 731, 734-35 (1983), we quoted the following language from Eldredge v. Carpenters 46 Northern California Counties Joint Apprenticeship & Training Committee, 662 F.2d 534, 537 (9th Cir.1981), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 917, 103 S.Ct. 231, 74 L.Ed.2d 183 (1982):

“ ‘Rule 19 requires two separate inquiries. First, are there persons who should be joined, either because their own interests or the interests of the parties might be harmed by their absence? Such persons, referred to as “necessary parties,” must be joined if feasible. Fed.R.Civ.P. 19(a). Second, if parties determined to be necessary under rule 19(a) cannot be joined, should the action in “equity and good conscience” be dismissed? Only if the court determines that the action should be dismissed is the absent party la-belled “indispensable.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 19(b); see English v. Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, 465 F.2d 43, 48 (5th Cir.1972).’ ”

We are concerned only with the first prong of this inquiry.3

In the Syllabus of Wachter v. Dostert, supra, we summarized the guidelines set forth in Rule 19(a) for determining whether a nonparty is a person whose joinder should be compelled:

“Rule 19(a) of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure requires two general inquiries for joinder of a person who is subject to service of process. First, is his presence necessary to give complete relief to those already parties? Second, does he have a claim that, if he is not joined, will be impaired or will his nonjoinder result in subjecting the existing parties to a [386] substantial risk of multiple or inconsistent obligations? If the absent person meets the foregoing test, his join-der is required. However, in the event that the absent person cannot be joined, the suit should be dismissed only if the court concludes that the 19(b) criteria cannot be met.”

Accord Capitol Fuels, Inc. v. Clark Equip. Co., 176 W.Va. 277, 281, 342 S.E.2d 245, 248 (1986)

It has been stated that under the federal rules, “the impulse is toward entertaining the broadest possible scope of action consistent with fairness to the parties; joinder of claims, parties and remedies is strongly encouraged.” United Mine Workers of Am. v. Gibbs, 383 U.S. 715, 724, 86 S.Ct. 1130, 1138, 16 L.Ed.2d 218, 227 (1966). (Footnote omitted). It has also been stated, however:

“There is no precise formula for determining whether a particular nonparty should be joined under Rule 19(a). Underlying policies include plaintiffs right to decide whom he shall sue, avoiding multiple litigation, providing the parties with complete and effective relief in a single action, protecting the absentee, and fairness to the other party. The determination is heavily influenced by the facts and circumstances of each case.” Bakia v. County of Los Angeles, 687 F.2d 299, 301 (9th Cir.1982).

In Bakia, the Ninth Circuit went on to state that “[i]t is a misapplication of Rule 19(a) to add parties who are neither necessary nor indispensable, who are not essential for just adjudication and who have a separate cause of action entirely.” 687 F.2d at 301. In Cortez v. County of Los Angeles, 96 F.R.D. 427, 428-29 (C.D. Cal.1983), the district court, relying on Bakia, made this statement:

“As a general matter, Rule 19 does not necessitate the joinder of plaintiffs advancing tort claims against the same defendant for injuries arising out of the same transaction or occurrences. See, e.g., Field v. Volkswagenwerk AG, 626 F.2d 293, 299 (3d Cir.1980); Pan American World Airways, Inc. v. United States District Court, 523 F.2d 1073, 1078 (9th Cir.1975); 7 C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice & Procedure § 1623, at 245 (1972). This rule is applicable where the potential co-plaintiffs are related by blood or marriage, providing that each has a separate, independent cause of action. Sove v. Smith, 311 F.2d 5 (6th Cir.1962); Wright v. Schebler Co., 37 F.R.D. 319 (S.D.Iowa 1965).”

Accord Troutman v. Ollis, 134 Mich.App. 332, 351 N.W.2d 301 (1984).

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Glover v. Narick, 400 S.E.2d 816, 184 W. Va. 381 (W. Va. 1991).

400 S.E.2d 816 (Glover v. Narick) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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