Civil Procedure Reference
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
Plain-English explanations of 34 essential FRCP rules with key points, common exam issues, and landmark cases. Each rule is broken down to help you understand not just what it says, but how it works on exams and in practice.
Commencing an Action
Rule 3: Commencing an Action
A civil action is commenced by filing a complaint with the court. Filing triggers the statute of limitations for federal...
Rule 4: Summons; Service of Process
Rule 4 governs the issuance of a summons and the methods by which a defendant is served with process. The clerk must iss...
Pleadings
Rule 7: Pleadings Allowed; Form of Motions
Only the following pleadings are allowed: a complaint, an answer, an answer to a counterclaim designated as a countercla...
Rule 8: General Rules of Pleading
A complaint must contain: (1) a short and plain statement of the grounds for jurisdiction, (2) a short and plain stateme...
Rule 11: Signing Pleadings, Motions, and Other Papers; Sanctions
Every pleading, motion, or other paper must be signed by an attorney (or the party if unrepresented). By signing, the at...
Defenses and Motions
Rule 12: Defenses and Objections
Rule 12 establishes the framework for pre-answer motions. A defendant must respond within 21 days of service (60 days if...
Rule 13: Counterclaim and Crossclaim
A compulsory counterclaim arises out of the same transaction or occurrence as the opposing party's claim and must be rai...
Rule 14: Third-Party Practice (Impleader)
A defending party may serve a summons and complaint on a nonparty who is or may be liable to the defending party for all...
Joinder
Rule 18: Joinder of Claims
A party asserting a claim may join as many claims as it has against an opposing party, regardless of whether the claims ...
Rule 19: Required Joinder of Parties
A person must be joined as a party if: (1) complete relief cannot be accorded among existing parties without them, or (2...
Rule 20: Permissive Joinder of Parties
Persons may join as plaintiffs or be joined as defendants if: (1) they assert or have asserted against them any right to...
Rule 23: Class Actions
A class action may be maintained if: (1) the class is so numerous that joinder is impracticable (numerosity), (2) there ...
Discovery
Rule 26: Duty to Disclose; General Provisions Governing Discovery
Rule 26(a) requires initial disclosures without awaiting a discovery request: the names of individuals likely to have di...
Rule 30: Depositions by Oral Examination
A party may depose any person, including a party, by oral examination. Leave of court is required if the deposition woul...
Rule 33: Interrogatories to Parties
A party may serve no more than 25 written interrogatories (including discrete subparts) on any other party. Interrogator...
Rule 34: Producing Documents and Tangible Things
A party may serve a request to produce documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things within the scope...
Rule 36: Requests for Admission
A party may serve written requests asking another party to admit the truth of matters relating to facts, the application...
Rule 37: Failure to Make Disclosures or to Cooperate in Discovery; Sanctions
If a party fails to make required disclosures or cooperate in discovery, the court may order compliance and impose sanct...
Trial
Rule 38: Right to a Jury Trial; Demand
The right to a jury trial as declared by the Seventh Amendment is preserved. A party may demand a jury trial on any issu...
Rule 41: Dismissal of Actions
The plaintiff may voluntarily dismiss an action without a court order by filing a notice of dismissal before the opposin...
Rule 42: Consolidation; Separate Trials
If actions before the court involve a common question of law or fact, the court may consolidate the actions for hearing ...
Rule 45: Subpoena
A subpoena commands a person to attend and testify at a deposition, hearing, or trial, or to produce documents, ESI, or ...
Rule 39: Trial by Jury or by the Court
When a jury trial has been demanded under Rule 38, the action must be designated on the docket as a jury action. A trial...
Rule 47: Selecting Jurors
The court may examine prospective jurors or may permit the attorneys to do so. The court must permit the parties to exer...
Rule 48: Number of Jurors; Verdict; Polling
A jury must begin with at least 6 and no more than 12 members. Unless the parties stipulate otherwise, the verdict must ...
Rule 49: Special Verdict; General Verdict with Interrogatories
The court may require a jury to return a special verdict in the form of a written finding on each issue of fact, or may ...
Judgments
Rule 50: Judgment as a Matter of Law (JMOL)
If a party has been fully heard on an issue during a jury trial and the court finds that a reasonable jury would not hav...
Rule 51: Instructions to the Jury; Objections
At the close of the evidence or at an earlier reasonable time set by the court, a party may file requests for jury instr...
Rule 52: Findings and Conclusions by the Court
In an action tried on the facts without a jury or with an advisory jury, the court must find the facts specially and sta...
Rule 56: Summary Judgment
A party may move for summary judgment on all or part of a claim or defense. The court shall grant summary judgment if th...
Post-Trial Motions
Rule 59: New Trial; Altering or Amending a Judgment
The court may grant a new trial on all or some of the issues after a jury trial for any reason that has traditionally ju...
Rule 60: Relief from a Judgment or Order
Rule 60(a) allows correction of clerical mistakes at any time. Rule 60(b) provides six grounds for relief from a final j...
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