Section 2228. Joinder of related plaintiffs

(a) If an injury, not resulting in death, is inflicted upon the person of a husband or a wife, and causes of action therefor accrue to both, they shall be enforced in one action brought by the husband and the wife.

(b) If an injury, not resulting in death, is inflicted upon the person of a minor, and causes of action therefor accrue to the minor and also to the parent or parents of the minor, they shall be enforced in one action brought by the parent or parents and the child. Either parent may sue therefor in the name of both; but if the parents live apart the action shall be brought by the parent having the custody of the child and the control of its services.

Official Note

When the interest of a minor is involved under subdivision (b), Rule 2028(a) shall apply.

See Rule 2232(a), infra, as to the effect of failure to join as required by this Rule.

The amendment to Rule 2228(a) governing joinder of related plaintiffs is required by the Equal Rights Amendment, Article 1, Section 28, of the Constitution of 1968.

Prior to that amendment, the law of Pennsylvania had been that a wife could not recover for the loss of her husband’s consortium. Rule 2228(a), when promulgated in 1940, was written solely in terms of injury to a wife and a cause of action accruing to the husband as a result thereof. In Hopkins v. Blanco, 457 Pa. 90 (1974), the Supreme Court held that ‘‘If the husband may recover for loss of consortium, to deny the wife an equal right would be invalid under the Pennsylvania Constitution’’.

Accordingly, Rule 2228(a) has been amended to require mandatory joinder in either case, such as, an injury to the wife and a cause of action in the husband or an injury to the husband and a cause of action in the wife.

The provisions of this Rule 2228 adopted June 7, 1940, effective February 5, 1941; amended July 2, 1976, 6 Pa.B. 1558. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (22343).