Rule 17 - Plaintiff and defendant; capacity; public officers (a) Real Party in Interest. (1) Designation in General. An action must be prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest. The following may sue in their own names without joining the person for whose benefit the action is brought: (E) a trustee of an express trust; (F) a party with whom or in whose name a contract has been made for another's benefit; and (G) a party authorized by statute. (2) Action in the Name of the United States for Another's Use or Benefit. When a federal statute so provides, an action for another's use or benefit must be brought in the name of the United States. (3) Joinder of the Real Party in Interest. The court may not dismiss an action for failure to prosecute in the name of the real party in interest until, after an objection, a reasonable time has been allowed for the real party in interest to ratify, join, or be substituted into the action. After ratification, joinder, or substitution, the action proceeds as if it had been originally commenced by the real party in interest. (b) Capacity to sue or be sued. - (1) The capacity of an individual, including one acting in a representative capacity, to sue or be sued, shall be determined by the law of this State. (2) A married person may sue or be sued in all respects as if he or she were single. (3) The capacity of a corporation to sue or be sued shall be determined by the law under which it was organized, unless a statute of this State provides to the contrary. (4) A partnership or other unincorporated association may sue or be sued in its common name. (c) Minor or Incompetent Person. (1) With a Representative. The following representatives may sue or defend on behalf of a minor or an incompetent person: (2) Without a Representative. A minor or an incompetent person who does not have a duly appointed representative, or if such representative fails to act the minor or incompetent person may sue by a next friend or by a guardian ad litem. The court must appoint a guardian ad litem-or issue another appropriate order-to protect a minor or incompetent person who is unrepresented in an action. (d) Suing person by fictitious name. When the identity of a defendant is unknown, such defendant may be designated in any pleading or proceeding by any name and description, and when the true name is discovered the pleading or proceeding may be amended accordingly; and the plaintiff in such case must state in the complaint that the plaintiff could not discover the true name, and the summons must contain the words, "real name unknown", and a copy thereof must be served personally upon the defendant. (e) Public Officer's Title and Name. A public officer who sues or is sued in an official capacity may be designated by official title rather than by name, but the court may order that the officer's name be added. Adopted effective March 1, 2017