In federal court, intervention may occur as of right when the applicant's interest may be harmed by the disposition and is not adequately represented. This is known as:

• A. Mandatory intervention
• B. Intervention by consent only
• C. Intervention as of right
• D. Intervention only for class actions

Answer: (C)

Intervention as of right under the Federal Rules applies when a movant has an interest relating to the subject matter of the action, and the disposition may impair that interest, and the current parties do not adequately represent the movant’s interest. When those conditions are met, the court must allow the movant to intervene. The scenario fits this: the applicant’s interest could be harmed by the disposition and is not adequately represented by existing parties, so intervention is mandatory. The other options describe different concepts—consent-based or discretionary permissive intervention, or a notion limited to class actions—but they do not capture the mandatory, right-based mechanism at issue here.