Section 507.060

Title XXXV CIVIL PROCEDURE AND LIMITATIONS

Chapter 507

Effective - 28 Aug 2018, 2 histories   

  507.060.  Persons having claims against plaintiff or plaintiff's insured may be joined as defendants and required to interplead, when — limitation on liability, when — dismissal not required, when. — 1.  Persons having claims against the plaintiff or plaintiff's insured may be joined as defendants and required to interplead when their claims are such that the plaintiff is or may be exposed to multiple liability, including multiple claims against the same insurance coverage.  It is not ground for objection to the joinder that the claims of the several claimants or the titles on which their claims depend do not have a common origin or are not identical but are adverse to and independent of one another, or that the plaintiff avers that he is not liable in whole or in part to any or all of the claimants.  A defendant exposed to similar liability may obtain such interpleader by way of cross-claim or counterclaim.  The provisions of this section supplement and do not in any way limit the joinder of parties permitted in section 507.040.

  2.  For purposes of this subsections 2 to 5 of this section, the term "plaintiff" means the insurer, or any entity which is subject to sections 537.700 to 537.756 or which provides risk management services to any public or private entity, of an insured person or entity subject to more than one claim arising out of any one incident or occurrence, but only when such claims total an amount in excess of the plaintiff's total limits of coverage available for that one incident or occurrence.

  3.  For purposes of this subsections 2 to 5 of this section, the term "claim" means all actual or potential claims against a plaintiff or plaintiff's insured arising from the one incident or occurrence referred to in subsection 2 of this section.

  4.  If, within ninety days after receiving the first offer of settlement or demand for payment by a claimant, a plaintiff files an action for interpleader under this section and the plaintiff timely deposits all of its applicable limits of coverage into court within thirty days of the court's order granting interpleader, the plaintiff shall not be liable to any insured or defendant for any amount in excess of the plaintiff's contractual limits of coverage in the interpleader or any other action, so long as the plaintiff defends all of its insureds in good faith from any claims or lawsuits for damages allegedly caused by the incident or occurrence for which the limits of coverage were paid into court, even after depositing its limits of coverage into court notwithstanding any policy provision releasing the plaintiff of its duty to defend any of the insureds.  Any insured's refusal of the plaintiff's good faith defense shall not affect the plaintiff's rights under this section.

  5.  Nothing in this section shall require a release or dismissal of any claim for damages against any insured person or entity upon interpleader by an insurer of that person or entity.

  6.  Nothing in this section shall be construed, expressly or by implication, to amend, modify, or abrogate any insured's right to consent or control the defense or settlement of any claim as may be provided in any insurance contract.

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(L. 1943 p. 353 § 18, A.L. 2018 H.B. 1531)