Rule 22 . Interpleader. (a) Joinder, cross-claim, or counterclaim. (1) By a Plaintiff. Persons with claims that may expose a plaintiff to double or multiple liability may be joined as defendants and required to interplead. Joinder for interpleader is proper even though: (A) the claims of the several claimants, or the titles on which their claims depend, lack a common origin or are adverse and independent rather than identical; or (B) the plaintiff denies liability in whole or in part to any or all of the claimants. (2) By a Defendant. A defendant exposed to similar liability may seek interpleader through a crossclaim or counterclaim. (b) Substitution. (1) Grounds. A defendant in a contract or property action may substitute as the defendant a person who is not a party and who demands the same debt or property at issue in the action, upon motion made: (A) before the defendant files an answer; (B) with due notice to the person not a party and to the plaintiff; and (C) upon affidavit that a person not a party to the action: (i) makes against the defendant a demand for the same debt or property, and (ii) is not colluding with the defendant. (2) Deposit of Debt or Delivery of Property. A defendant substituted under this rule must, at the court's discretion, either: (A) deposit in court the amount of the debt at issue; or (B) deliver the property at issue or its value to such person as the court may direct. (3) Discharge of Liability. A defendant's deposit of debt or delivery of property under subsection (b)(2) discharges the defendant's liability to either the plaintiff or the substitute defendant.
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