Rule 17 — Plaintiff and Defendant; Capacity; Public Officers

Fed. R. Civ. P. 17

• Source: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
• Rule: 17
• TITLE IV: PARTIES
• Citation: Fed. R. Civ. P. 17

Text

(a) REALPARTYININTEREST.
(1) Designation in General. An action must be prosecuted in
the name of the real party in interest. The following may sue
in their own names without joining the person for whose bene-
fit the action is brought:
(A) an executor;
(B) an administrator;
(C) a guardian;
(D) a bailee;
(E) a trustee of an express trust;
(F) a party with whom or in whose name a contract has
been made for another’s benefit; and
(G) a party authorized by statute.

(2) Action in the Name of the United States for Another’s Use or
Benefit. When a federal statute so provides, an action for an-
other’s use or benefit must be brought in the name of the
United States.
(3) Joinder of the Real Party in Interest. The court may not
dismiss an action for failure to prosecute in the name of the
real party in interest until, after an objection, a reasonable
time has been allowed for the real party in interest to ratify,
join, or be substituted into the action. After ratification, join-
der, or substitution, the action proceeds as if it had been origi-
nally commenced by the real party in interest.
(b) CAPACITY TO SUE OR BE SUED. Capacity to sue or be sued is
determined as follows:
(1) for an individual who is not acting in a representative ca-
pacity, by the law of the individual’s domicile;
(2) for a corporation, by the law under which it was orga-
nized; and
(3) for all other parties, by the law of the state where the
court is located, except that:
(A) a partnership or other unincorporated association
with no such capacity under that state’s law may sue or be
sued in its common name to enforce a substantive right
existing under the United States Constitution or laws; and
(B) 28 U.S.C. §§754 and 959(a) govern the capacity of a re-
ceiver appointed by a United States court to sue or be sued
in a United States court.
(c) MINORORINCOMPETENTPERSON.
(1) With a Representative. The following representatives may
sue or defend on behalf of a minor or an incompetent person:
(A) a general guardian;
(B) a committee;
(C) a conservator; or
(D) a like fiduciary.
(2) Without a Representative. A minor or an incompetent per-
son who does not have a duly appointed representative may
sue by a next friend or by a guardian ad litem. The court must
appoint a guardian ad litem—or issue another appropriate
order—to protect a minor or incompetent person who is unrep-
resented in an action.
(d) PUBLIC OFFICER’S TITLE AND NAME. A public officer who sues
or is sued in an official capacity may be designated by official
title rather than by name, but the court may order that the offi-
cer’s name be added.

Advisory Committee Notes

(As amended Dec. 27, 1946, eff. Mar. 19, 1948; Dec. 29, 1948, eff. Oct. 20, 1949; Feb. 28, 1966, eff. July 1, 1966; Mar. 2, 1987, eff. Aug. 1, 1987; Apr. 25, 1988, eff. Aug. 1, 1988; Pub. L. 100–690, title VII, §7049, Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4401; Apr. 30, 2007, eff. Dec. 1, 2007.)