Editing Interpleader (section)

==Terminology and overview==
In an interpleader action, the party initiating the litigation, normally the plaintiff, is termed the ''[[Stakeholder (law)|stakeholder]]''. The money or other property in controversy is called the ''res'' (a [[Latin]] word meaning object or thing). All defendants having a possible interest in the subject matter of the case are called ''claimants''.  In some jurisdictions, the plaintiff is referred to as the ''plaintiff-in-interpleader'' and each claimant a ''claimant-in-interpleader''.

An interpleader proceeding has two stages. The first stage determines if the stakeholder is entitled to an interpleader and if he should be discharged from liability. The second stage is like an action at law to determine which of the claimants is entitled to the res.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal|last=Chafee Jr.|author2=Zechariah|title=Broadening the Second Stage of Interpleader|journal=Harvard Law Review|date=June 1946|volume=54|issue=4|pages=541–562|jstor=1334420}}</ref>