Legal Question in Real Estate Law in United States Minor Outlying Islands

Re: Real Estate

First, I am unclear if you are asking a question about California law, or another country - your zip code indicates California, but you also indicate law of "NUS-UM". It would be very helpful if you would indicate where the lawsuit is filed, and what law you are asking about.

Second, by Non-Vested do you mean that the spouse is not an obligor on the loan? What is the nature of the lawsuit? Please provide more details so we can attempt to assist you with this question.

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Re: Real Estate

First, let me warn you that I can't give a definite and certain answer to your question without a full interview in which I could get all the facts and circumstances of the case, including why the complaint needs to be amended and whether you are asking as a current defendant or as the existing plaintiff. Nevertheless, here are a few guidelines:

In general, an amended complaint may add new parties; usually, this is a new defendant, but new plaintiffs can be added too.

One of the many distinctions between plaintiffs and defendants is that plaintiffs are always voluntary participants in the case. Defendants are usually involuntary participants, but not always. Some defendants consent to be sued in a deliberate attempt to have their rights adjudicated. In this case, the spouse would have to be willing to be a plaintiff. If the spouse is a "necessary party" but does not agree to be a plaintiff, he/she must be joined as a defendant, regardless of whether his/her position in the case more nearly resembles that of a plaintiff.

A plaintiff must have "standing" to sue; in other words, the plaintiff must personally possess some claim or right upon which the court can grant relief to this particular plaintiff. Lack of standing to sue most often crops up in suits where, for example, an environmental activist wants to sue a timber company for clear-cutting or a mining company for polluting a stream. If the activist isn't personally and directly affected by these activities, he/she may be denied the right to sue. Here, it's possible that the spouse cannot be a plaintiff because he/she isn't vested, but this again would depend on a bunch of factors including what the suit is all about, whether the spouse might have an equitable or community interest without true vesting, and so on.

Your possible issue here will require an interview with an attorney well-versed in rules of pleading.