Rule 22. Interpleader.
Rule 22. Interpleader.
(a) Persons havingclaims against the plaintiff may be joined as defendants and required tointerplead when their claims expose or may expose the plaintiff to double ormultiple liability. It is not ground for objection to the joinder that theclaims of the several claimants or the titles on which their claims depend donot have a common origin or are not identical but are adverse to andindependent of one another, or that the plaintiff avers that he is not liablein whole or in part to any or all of the claimants. A defendant exposed tosimilar liability may obtain such interpleader by way of crossclaim orcounterclaim. The provisions of this rule supplement and do not in any waylimit the joinder of parties permitted in Rule 20.
(b) Where funds aresubject to competing claims by parties to the action, the court may order theparty in possession of the funds either to deposit the funds in an interestbearing account in a bank, savings and loan, or trust company licensed to dobusiness in this State or to deposit the funds with the clerk. If the fundsare deposited in a bank, savings and loan, or trust company, the court shallspecify the type of interest bearing account to be used. Funds deposited withthe clerk shall be invested or deposited as provided in G.S. 7A‑112 andG.S. 7A‑112.1. Upon determination of the action, the judgment shallprovide for disbursement of the principal and interest earned on the fundswhile so deposited. (1967, c. 954, s. 1; 1989, c. 668.)