(Ga. L. 1966, p. 609, § 22; Ga. L. 1967, p. 226, § 11.)
Cross references.- Form of complaint for interpleader, § 9-11-118.
Form of counterclaim by defendant for interpleader, § 9-11-121.
Procedure upon conflicting claims to goods in possession of bailee which are covered by document of title, § 11-7-603.
Equitable interpleader, § 23-3-90 et seq.
U.S. Code.- For provisions of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 22, see 28 U.S.C.
Law reviews.- For survey article on trial practice and procedure, see 34 Mercer L. Rev. 299 (1982).
JUDICIAL DECISIONSANALYSIS
General Consideration
Purpose.
- Only purpose of this section is to provide for the bringing in of additional parties in a law action in the one instance when there is a possibility of double liability as to a party defendant or plaintiff who is made a party to an already pending law action. Alder v. Ormond, 117 Ga. App. 600, 161 S.E.2d 435 (1968).
Purpose of this section is to bring in additional parties in an action at law in the one instance when there is a possibility of double liability as to a party plaintiff or defendant. Midland Nat'l Life Ins. Co. v. Emerson, 121 Ga. App. 427, 174 S.E.2d 211 (1970).
Technical rules no longer applicable.
- Statute has broadened and liberalized rules relating to interpleader so as to render the technicalities formerly associated with the equitable remedy of a strict bill of interpleader no longer applicable to complaints tried hereunder. Algernon Blair, Inc. v. Trust Co., 224 Ga. 118, 160 S.E.2d 395 (1968); Stone v. Davis, 242 Ga. 17, 247 S.E.2d 756 (1978).
Liberal construction.
- Interpleader provisions are remedial in nature and should therefore be liberally construed in order that the provisions' utilitarian purposes may be best effectuated. Algernon Blair, Inc. v. Trust Co., 224 Ga. 118, 160 S.E.2d 395 (1968).
Equitable interpleader is available as well as interpleader under former Code 1933, § 37-1503 et seq. (see now O.C.G.A. § 9-11-22). Interpleader actions may be instituted in this state in either strict equity practice under former Code 1933, § 37-1503 et seq. (see now O.C.G.A. § 23-3-90 et seq.) or under Ga. L. 1967, p. 266, § 11 (see now O.C.G.A. § 9-11-22). Stone v. Davis, 242 Ga. 17, 247 S.E.2d 756 (1978).
In order to invoke remedy of interpleader, stakeholder need only show that it is or may be exposed to double or multiple liability. Kelly v. Citizens & S. Nat'l Bank, 160 Ga. App. 405, 287 S.E.2d 343 (1981).
Stakeholder's good-faith fear of adverse claims determinative.
- Right to interpleader should depend merely upon the stakeholder's good-faith fear of adverse claims, regardless of the merits of those claims on what the stakeholder bona fide believes the merits to be. Algernon Blair, Inc. v. Trust Co., 224 Ga. 118, 160 S.E.2d 395 (1968); Insurance Co. of N. Am. v. Citizens Bank, 225 Ga. 347, 168 S.E.2d 578 (1969); Gill v. Myrick, 228 Ga. 253, 185 S.E.2d 72 (1971); Kelly v. Citizens & S. Nat'l Bank, 160 Ga. App. 405, 287 S.E.2d 343 (1981).
Summary judgment denied when claims were not adverse.
- Successor trustee that brought an interpleader action against the original trustee and a broker, involving $60,000 in compensation which the original trustee was entitled to under a court order, was not entitled to summary judgment. The claims of the two interpled parties were not adverse or competing. The original trustee only claimed compensation under the court order as a trustee, not in any other capacity, while the broker only claimed a fee as a broker. Trust Co. Bank v. Citizens & S. Trust Co., 260 Ga. 124, 390 S.E.2d 589 (1990).
Use of interpleader does not affect constitutional venue provisions.
- Use of interpleader does not effect a change of the provisions of the Constitution (Ga. Const. 1983, Art. VI, Sec. II) relating to the venue of civil cases. Kelly v. Citizens & S. Nat'l Bank, 160 Ga. App. 405, 287 S.E.2d 343 (1981).
Venue in an action where there is counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim for interpleader is proper only in the county of residence where one of the claimants resides. Kelly v. Citizens & S. Nat'l Bank, 160 Ga. App. 405, 287 S.E.2d 343 (1981).
Extent that authorization of interpleader effects discharge from liability.
- See Thompson v. Bank of S., 172 Ga. App. 579, 323 S.E.2d 877 (1984).
When claims asserted against a broker were not based on the broker's status as a mere stakeholder of the funds in question, but on the broker's allegedly improper actions in transferring such funds out of the plaintiff's account without permission, the mere fact that the broker, after creating the controversy, disclaimed any personal interest in the funds and sought to interplead the funds in the broker's possession did not relieve the broker from liability for the broker's allegedly wrongful actions in transferring the funds without permission. Glisson v. Freeman, 243 Ga. App. 92, 532 S.E.2d 442 (2000).
Appealability of order.
- An order which holds that interpleader is a viable remedy and which dismisses the instigating stakeholder is not directly appealable unless the trial court clearly directs the entry of final judgment under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-54(b). Custom One-Hour Photo of Ga., Inc. v. Citizens & S. Bank, 179 Ga. App. 70, 345 S.E.2d 147 (1986).
Motion for judgment on pleadings properly treated as motion for summary judgment.
- In an interpleader action involving a dispute over the payment of health insurance benefits, the trial court properly granted the hospital's motion for a judgment on the pleadings as there was no genuine issue of fact that the hospital was owed the amount for the medical expenses at issue and the trial court found that a purported settlement agreement between the employee's counsel and the hospital for less than the full amount was unenforceable as the agreement lacked consideration. The employee agreed to waive oral argument on all motions pending before the trial court and, therefore, acquiesced in the trial court's procedure of treating the hospital's motion for judgment on the pleadings as one for summary judgment, therefore, the trial court did not err in treating the hospital's motion as such without providing formal notice or in failing to hold a hearing on that motion. Lamb v. Fulton-DeKalb Hosp. Auth., 297 Ga. App. 529, 677 S.E.2d 328 (2009).
Cited in Bauknight v. Hanover Ins. Co., 122 Ga. App. 701, 178 S.E.2d 695 (1970); Leon Inv. Co. v. Independent Life & Accident Ins. Co., 123 Ga. App. 668, 182 S.E.2d 151 (1971); Williams v. Overstreet, 230 Ga. 112, 195 S.E.2d 906 (1973); Farris v. United States, 230 Ga. 862, 199 S.E.2d 782 (1973); C & S Land, Transp. & Dev. Corp. v. Grubbs, 141 Ga. App. 393, 233 S.E.2d 486 (1977); Lambert v. Allen, 146 Ga. App. 617, 247 S.E.2d 200 (1978); Johnson v. Mayor of Carrollton, 24 Ga. 173, 288 S.E.2d 565 (1982); Southern LNG, Inc. v. MacGinnitie, 294 Ga. 657, 755 S.E.2d 683 (2014).
Merit of Claims
Relative merit of claims not determinative.
- In the very nature of interpleader, when the total claims presented to the stakeholder exceed the amount of the fund, some claims will be found either to be lacking in merit or to be subordinate, but the fact that this appears on the face of the stakeholder's petition should not operate to deny the stakeholder the relief the stakeholder seeks, that is, relief from the threat of vexatious multiple litigation. Algernon Blair, Inc. v. Trust Co., 224 Ga. 118, 160 S.E.2d 395 (1968); Insurance Co. of N. Am. v. Citizens Bank, 225 Ga. 347, 168 S.E.2d 578 (1969); Gill v. Myrick, 228 Ga. 253, 185 S.E.2d 72 (1971).
While the assertions of one or more of the claimants will be lacking in merit, that fact alone does not relieve a stakeholder of the substantial risk of vexatious litigation. Algernon Blair, Inc. v. Trust Co., 224 Ga. 118, 160 S.E.2d 395 (1968).
Complainant's offer to deposit disputed fund into the registry of the court and to be discharged from the litigation should not be denied merely because claim advanced by one of the claimants is weak or rests on tenuous grounds. Algernon Blair, Inc. v. Trust Co., 224 Ga. 118, 160 S.E.2d 395 (1968).
Sufficiency of a counterclaim for interpleader does not turn on whether there is any merit in the claims asserted against the stakeholder. Insurance Co. of N. Am. v. Citizens Bank, 225 Ga. 347, 168 S.E.2d 578 (1969).
Right to interpleader depends upon the stakeholder's good faith fear of adverse claims, regardless of the merits of those claims or what the stakeholder in good faith believes the merits to be; thus, a stakeholder's offer to deposit disputed funds into the registry of the court in order to be discharged from potential litigation should not be denied merely because a claimant's case is weak or rests on tenuous grounds. Gilbert v. Montlick & Assocs., P.C., 248 Ga. App. 535, 546 S.E.2d 895 (2001).
RESEARCH REFERENCES
Am. Jur. 2d.
- 44B Am. Jur. 2d, Interpleader, §§ 1, 2, 4, 5.
C.J.S.- 35A C.J.S., Federal Civil Procedure, §§ 127, 367. 48 C.J.S., Interpleader, §§ 6, 17. 67A C.J.S., Parties, §§ 63, 64.
ALR.
- Right of judgment debtor to interplead, 48 A.L.R. 966.
Right of escrow holder to interplead conflicting claimants, 60 A.L.R. 638.
Right of bank to interplead rival claimants to deposit, 60 A.L.R. 719.
Right of owner to maintain bill of interpleader against contractor and lien claimants and others in respect of fund arising from construction contracts, 70 A.L.R. 515.
Interpleader where one claimant asserts an adverse and paramount title, 97 A.L.R. 996.
Warehouseman's right to interplead rival claimants to goods stored or their proceeds, 100 A.L.R. 425.
When insurance company deemed to be a disinterested stakeholder for purposes of bill of interpleader, 108 A.L.R. 267.
Right to interpleader by obligor in bond or other contract the obligation or benefit of which extends to a class, 108 A.L.R. 1250.
Danger of being subjected to double liability in respect of the same obligation as ground for abatement of, or injunction against, action by one claimant pending an action, otherwise in personam, by a rival claimant, 115 A.L.R. 346.
Bill of interpleader as affected by fact that same person, in different capacities, is both stakeholder and one of the rival claimants, 144 A.L.R. 1174.
Right of trustee, executor, or administrator to maintain interpleader, 152 A.L.R. 1122.
Insurance: facility of payment clause, 166 A.L.R. 10.
Appealability of order with respect to motion for joinder of additional parties, 16 A.L.R.2d 1023.
Corporation's right to interplead claimants to dividends, 46 A.L.R.2d 980.
Allowance of attorneys' fees to party interpleading claimants to funds or property, 48 A.L.R.2d 190.
Intervenor's right to disqualify judge, 92 A.L.R.2d 1110.
Stakeholder's liability for loss of interpleaded funds after they leave stakeholder's control, 7 A.L.R.5th 976.