A plaintiff files a federal lawsuit against a single defendant for breach of contract. The plaintiff also seeks to assert a fraud claim against the original defendant and to join a second defendant who allegedly collaborated with the original defendant in committing the fraud. Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, what best explains the plaintiff's ability to add the second claim and the second defendant?
The plaintiff may assert the fraud claim if supported by federal question jurisdiction and may include the second defendant based on the involvement of federal substantive law.
Joinder of the fraud claim and the second defendant depends on whether inconsistent judgments may arise without their inclusion in the lawsuit.
The plaintiff may assert the fraud claim against the original defendant but is unable to join the second defendant because permissive joinder rules generally exclude fraud-based claims.
The plaintiff may add the fraud claim against the original defendant if jurisdictional requirements are satisfied and may join the second defendant if the fraud claim arises out of the same transaction or occurrence and involves a common question of law or fact.
The correct response reflects Rules 18 and 20 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 18 allows a plaintiff to assert any claims against an existing defendant, provided jurisdictional requirements, such as subject-matter jurisdiction, are satisfied. Rule 20 allows permissive joinder of additional parties if the claims arise out of the same transaction or occurrence and share a common question of law or fact. Incorrect responses either misstate the standards for joinder or impose additional or unrelated requirements not found in the rules.
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