interplead

[in-ter-pleed]

verb (used without object)

Law.

interpleaded, interpleading 

1. to litigate with each other in order to determine which of two parties is the rightful claimant against a third party.

2. to bring two or more claimants before a court to determine which of them is entitled to a claim that a third party recognizes.

interplead

/ ˌɪntəˈpliːd /

verb

1. (intr) law to institute interpleader proceedings

Other Word Forms

• uninterpleaded adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of interplead¹

1325–75; inter- + plead; replacing late Middle English enterpleden < Anglo-French enterpleder

Example Sentences

“If there was a wealthy defendant who was unhappy with the share he’d been ordered to pay, he could simply try to find other wealthy defendants out there and interplead them in some kind of a case,” Cassell said.

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Interplead′er, one who interpleads: a form of process in the English courts, by a bill in equity, intended to protect a defendant who claims no interest in the subject-matter of a suit, while at the same time he has reason to know that the plaintiff's title is disputed by some other claimant.

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