Real Party in Interest

Missouri Civil Procedure Rule 52.01 requires that “every civil action shall be prosecuted by the real party in interest.” But who or what is a “real party in interest”? The real party in interest is a party having a “justiciable interest susceptible of protection through litigation.” Perkinson v. v. Burford, 623 S.W.2d 30, 34 (Mo. App. E.D. 1981). Stated differently, “real parties in interest are persons who are directly interested in a lawsuit’s subject matter and are entitled to maintain the action.” Welch v. Davis, 114 S.W.3d 285, 292 (Mo. App. W.D. 2003).

The determination of whether a person is a real party in interest is a legal conclusion subject to de novo review on appeal. Herky LLC v. Holman, 277 S.W.3d 702, 704 (Mo. App. E.D. 2008). In making this determination, the Court looks at the facts in the record, giving special attention by who stands to benefit by the litigation. Herky, LLC v. Holman, 277 S.W.3d 702, 704-05 (Mo. App. E.D. 2008).

Related Articles

Duties in Negligence, Origins

December 11, 2024

Negligence has four elements: (1) a legal duty of the defendant to protect the plaintiff from injury, (2) breach, (3) proximate cause, and (4) injury. Pendergist v. Pendergrass, 961 S.W.2d 919, 923 (Mo. App. W.D. 1998). “Duty is unique among the elements of negligence because the existence of duty is a question of law to…

Read More

Relation Back Doctrine

December 1, 2024

The relation-back doctrine involves both the statute of limitations and the amendment of a lawsuit. To be viable, any lawsuit must be timely filed within the applicable statute of limitations. “Statutes of limitation were never intended to be used as swords. Rather, they are shields, primarily designed to assure fairness to defendants by prohibiting stale…

Read More

Judicial Immunity

November 11, 2024

Missouri and federal courts recognize judicial immunity. Judicial immunity exempts conduct from civil or criminal liability. It is “conduct which is intimately associated with the judicial phase of the judicial process.” White v. Camden Cnty. Sheriff’s Dept, 106 S.W.3d 626, 633 (Mo. Ct. App. 2003). The defense may be invoked by individuals who are not…

Read More

Diversity Jurisdiction, Measuring $75,000

September 29, 2024

One of the ways to get to federal court is if there is diversity jurisdiction. This requires (1) complete diversity of citizenship of the adverse parties and an amount in controversy exceeding $75,000. Lee v. Airgas MidSouth, Inc., 793 F.3d 894, 899 (8th Cir. 2015); 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). Many lawsuits, however, are coy on whether the…

Read More
Scroll to Top