Lots of words in Civil Procedure that begin with the letter I. Let's address each of them separately since, other than that common starting letter, they are quite different.
Impleader:
You'll sometimes see impleader referred to as third party practice, and there is good reason for this. An impleader claim is one where a defending party would like to bring in to the lawsuit a third party. The defending party is called the "third-party plaintiff," and the third party is called the "third-party defendant." So, there are three parties: the original plaintiff, the defendant now called the third-party plaintiff, and the third party brought in by the third party-plaintiff, called the third-party defendant.
The purpose of an impleader claim is to shift to the third-party defendant some or all of the liability that the third-party plaintiff will owe to the original plaintiff. Some words that should always come to mind when impleader is at issue are contribution and indemnity. The nature of these claims is derivative.
An impleader claim is always permissive; there is no such thing as a compulsory impleader. To implead a third-party defendant, the third-party plaintiff must file a third-party complaint naming the third-party defendant and have the complaint formally served on the third-party defendant. This must be done within 14 days of service of the answer to the plaintiff's complaint. After that, permission by court is required.
Once the third-party defendant is served, the original plaintiff may assert claims against the third-party defendant, and the third-party defendant may assert claims against the original plaintiff, provided that these claims arise out of the same facts as the original claim. It's important to ensure that subject matter jurisdiction is satisfied, but when a claim is made by a third-party defendant against the original plaintiff, supplemental jurisdiction will be a likely avenue if jurisdiction is not satisfied otherwise. Supplemental jurisdiction, however, will not be available for the plaintiff to make a claim against the third-party defendant.
Intervention:
Sometimes, a nonparty will want to voluntarily enter into the lawsuit. This nonparty might want to enter as a plaintiff to assert a claim, or as a defendant to defend a claim. Intervention can be either "of right" or "permissive."
Intervention is "of right" if the absentee's interest may be harmed if not joined, assuming that interest is not adequately represented by the current parties. Permissive intervention is allowable if the absentee's claim or defense and the pending case have at least one common question of law or fact. Though permissive intervention is discretionary with the court, it's generally allowable unless it would cause undue delay or if it would prejudice a party.
As for subject matter jurisdiction, it's important to note that if the intervenor is a plaintiff, supplemental jurisdiction will not apply.
Interpleader:
Interpleader applies if separate actions might result in double liability against a party (called the "stakeholder"). An interpleader suit permits the stakeholder to require two or more claimants to litigate amongst themselves to determine which, if any, has the valid claim. There are two separate interpleader procedures.
The first interpleader procedure is called Rule 22 interpleader. This requires either complete diversity between the stakeholder and all adverse claimants with a claim in excess of $75,000 or a federal question must be at issue. Rule 22, in other words, doesn't change what you've already learned about jurisdiction in federal court.
Statutory interpleader, on the other hand, does change a few things. Statutory interpleader requires only diversity between two of the claimants and there must be at least $500 at issue. This is sometimes referred to as "minimal diversity" to contrast it with the general rule requiring complete diversity. Service may be nationwide, and venue is proper where any claimant resides.
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