Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) govern Civil Procedure in the United States District Court s, or more simply, court procedures for Civil Suits . The FRCP are promulgated by the United States Supreme Court pursuant to the Rules Enabling Act , and then approved by the United States Congress . The Court's modifications to the rules are usually based on recommendations from the Judicial Conference Of The United States , the federal judiciary's internal policy-making body. Although federal courts are required to apply the substantive law of the states as rules of decision in cases where state law is in question, the federal courts almost always use the FRCP as their rules of procedure. States make their own rules that apply in their own Courts , but most states have adopted rules that are based on the FRCP.

The rules, established in 1938 , replaced the earlier Field Code and common law pleadings. They have undergone significant revisions in 1948, 1963, 1966, 1970, 1980, 1983, 1987, 1993, and 2000. (The FRCP contains a notes section which details the changes of each revision since 1938, explaining the rationale behind the wording). Common law pleading was more formal, traditional, and particular in its phrases and requirements. For example, a plaintiff bringing a tresspass suit would have to mention certain key words in his complaint or risk it being dismissed with prejudice. In contrast, the FRCP is based on a legal construction called notice pleading, which is less formal, created and modified by legal experts, and far less technical in requirements. In notice pleading, the same plaintiff bringing suit would not face dismissal for lack of the exact legal term, so long as the claim itself was legally actionable. The policy behind this change is to simply give "notice" of your grievances, and leave the details for later in the case. This acts in the interest of equity by concentrating on the actual law and not the exact construction of pleas.

In addition to notice pleading, a minority of states (e.g. California) use an intermediate system known as Code Pleading. Code pleading is an older system than notice pleading, and is based on legislative statute. It tends to straddle the gulf between obsolete common law pleading and modern notice pleading. Code pleading places additional burdens on a party to plea the "ultimate facts" of their case, that is, laying out the party's entire case. Notice pleading, in the contrary, simply requires a "short and plain statement" showing only that the pleader is entitled to relief. (FRCP 8(a)(2)). The exception to this rule is, when a plaintiff alleges Fraud the plaintiff must plead the facts of the alleged fraud with particularity.

(The Field Code was an intermediate step between common law and modern rules, created by New York attorney David Dudley Field . Adopted 1848–50. Field's code, among other reforms, merged law and equity proceedings into one.)

CATEGORIES OF RULES

There are 86 rules in the FRCP which are grouped into 11 categories. Listed below are the most commonly used categories and rules.

Category I - Scope of the FRCP

Rules 1 and 2.

Category I is a sort of "mission statement" for the FRCP, especially Rule 1, which states that the rules "shall be construed and administered to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action." Rule 2 unified the procedure of law and equity in the federal courts by specifying that there shall be one form of action, the " Civil Action ."

Category II - Commencement of Suits

Rules 3 to 6.

Category II covers commencement of civil suits including filing, summons, and Service Of Process .

Category III - Pleadings and Motions

Rules 7 to 16.

Category III covers Pleadings , Motions , defenses, and counterclaims. The plaintiff's original pleading is called a Complaint . The defendant's original pleading is called an Answer .

Rule 8(a) sets out the plaintiff's requirements for claim: a "short and plain statement" of jursidiction, a "short and plain statement" of the claim, and a demand for judgment. It also allows relief in the alternative.

Rule 8(b) states that the Defendant's Answer needs to admit or deny every element of the plaintiff's claim.

Rule 8(c) also requires that the Defendant's answer state any Affirmative Defenses .

Rule 11 requires all papers to be signed by the attorney. It also provides for sanctions against the attorney or client for harassment, frivolous arguments, or a lack of factual investigation. The purpose of sanctions is deterrent, not punitive. Courts have broad discretion about the exact nature of the sanction which can include: consent to ''in personam'' jurisdiction, fines, dismissal of claims, or dismissal of the entire case. The current version of Rule 11 is much more lenient than its 1980s version. Supporters of Tort Reform in Congress regularly call for legislation to make Rule 11 stricter.

Rule 12(b) describes pretrial motions that can be filed.

#lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction
#lack of Personal Jurisdiction
#improper venue
#insufficient process
#insufficient service of process
#failure to state a claim
#failure to join a party under Rule 19.

Rule 12(b)(6) is how lawsuits with insufficient legal theories underlying their Cause Of Action are thrown out of court. For instance, assault requires intent. If the plaintiff has failed to plead intent, the cause of action can be dismissed via 12(b)(6). The is the first of three procedural hurdles a Cause Of Action must pass over before it gets to a trial. A 12(b)(6) motion cannot include additional evidence such as affidavits. For getting rid of claims with insufficient factual basis (where the movant must submit additional facts to demonstrate the factual weakness in the plaintiff's case), a Rule 56 motion for Summary Judgment is used. 12(b)(6) motions replaced the common law Demurrer .

Rule 13 describes when a defendant is allowed or required to assert claims against other parties to the suit. The law encourages people to resolve all of their differences as efficiently as possible, so in many jurisdictions counterclaims that arise out of the same transaction or occurrence (compulsory counterclaims) must be brought during the original suit or they will be barred from future litigation.

Category IV - Parties

Rules 17 to 25.

Category V - Discovery

Rules 26 to 37.

Category V covers the rules of Discovery .
Modern civil litigation is based upon the idea that the parties should not be subject to surprises at trial. Discovery is the process whereby civil litigants seek to obtain information both from other parties and from non parties (or third parties). Parties have a series of tools with which they can obtain information:
1) Document requests: a party can seek documents and other real objects from parties and non parties
2) Interrogatores: a party can require other parties to answer questions
3) Requests for admissions: A party can require other parties to admit or deny the truth of certain statements
4) Depositions: A party can require individuals or representatives of organizations to make themselves available for questioning.

Federal Procedure also requires parties to divulge certain information without a formal discovery request, in contrast to many state courts where most discovery can only be had by request.

Category VI - Trial

Rules 38 to 53.

Category VII - Judgment

Rules 54 to 63.

Category VIII - Provisional and Final Remedies and Special Proceedings

Rules 64 to 71.

Category IX - Special Proceedings

Rules 72 to 76.

Category X - District Courts and Clerks

Rules 77 to 80.

Category XI - General Provisions

Rules 81 to 86.

EXTERNAL LINKS

Complete text of FRCP

O'Connor's Federal Rules --- Civil Trials

Information About

Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure