In Asch v. Friends of the Community of the Mount Vernon Yacht Club, 251 Va. 89, 91, 465 S.E.2d 817, 818 (1996), the Supreme Court explained that: "'a necessary party's interests in the subject matter of the suit, and in the relief sought, are so bound up with that of the other parties, that their legal presence as parties to the proceeding is an absolute necessity, without which the court cannot proceed. In such cases the court refuses to entertain the suit, when these parties cannot be subjected to its jurisdiction.'" Id. at 91, 465 S.E.2d at 818. An appellate court cannot adjudicate an appeal unless all necessary parties are properly before the court. A necessary party is one whose interests are likely to be defeated or diminished by a successful appeal. See id. at 90, 465 S.E.2d at 818.