266
Opinion of the Court
to insure the proper adversarial clash requisite to a 'case or controversy.' " McCord v. Benefits Review Board, 514 F. 2d 198, 200 (CADC 1975). Where "there is sufficient adversity between [the employer and the claimant] to insure proper litigation," ibid., they reason, "the Director's presence as a party is not necessary" and would in fact run afoul of Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 1(b) by " 'extend[ing] . . . the jurisdiction of the courts of appeals.' " Parker, 75 F. 3d, at 934 (citing McCord, supra, at 200); see also Fed. Rule App. Proc. 1(b) ("These rules shall not be construed to extend or limit the jurisdiction of the courts of appeals as established by law").
We reject this interpretation, which would effectively require us to tack the words "when necessary to preserve adversity" onto the otherwise unqualified language in Rule 15(a) that "the agency must be named respondent." Where there is already a case or controversy between parties properly before a court, as there is in this case between Ingalls and Mrs. Yates who properly appear pursuant to 33 U. S. C. § 921(c), that court's jurisdiction is not extended by the inclusion of an additional party whose presence is also consistent with Article III, see supra, at 264. See Pittston Stevedoring Corp. v. Dellaventura, 544 F. 2d 35, 43, n. 5 (CA2 1976) ("The existence of sufficient adversity between private parties has not been thought to preclude the Government's right to be a party in many other sorts of review of federal administrative action"), aff'd on other grounds sub nom. Northeast Marine Terminal Co. v. Caputo, 432 U. S. 249 (1977). Justice Scalia is concerned that Rule 1(b) might be violated in the converse situation—i. e., when the Director is the sole respondent whose presence is "necessary to preserve adversity." See post, at 274. Although the Director's participation in that case would not extend the courts' jurisdiction beyond the perimeter of Article III, see Newport News, 514 U. S., at 133 (no Article III impediment to the Director's participation), it is possible that such participation might exceed
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