Civil Procedure - Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
The
Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure (FRCP) govern civil procedure in the United States district
courts, 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
Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure.
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, 2000, and 2006. (The
FRCP
contains a notes section which details the changes of each revision
since 1938, explaining the rationale behind the wording). The most
recent revisions, which took effect in December 2006, made practical
changes to discovery rules to make it easier for courts and litigating
parties to manage electronic records.
Before the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure were established, common law pleading was more formal,
traditional, and particular in its phrases and requirements. For
example, a plaintiff bringing a trespass 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 plead the "ultimate facts" of its case, laying out the party's
entire case and the facts or allegations underlying it. Notice pleading,
by contrast, simply requires a "short and plain statement" showing only
that the pleader is entitled to relief. (FRCP 8(a)(2)). One important
exception to this rule is that when a party alleges fraud, that party
must plead the facts of the alleged fraud with particularity. (FRCP
9(b)).
(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.)
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (2007, March 26). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:19, March 26, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Federal_Rules_of_Civil_Procedure&oldid=117997594
CivilProcedure.info is a site where you can find the Rules of Civil Procedure for all fifty states, plus Washington DC, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Though our site is geared toward Rules of Civil Procedure pertaining primarily to process serving, we offer links to official state, government, and court websites to view the full text of the Rules of Civil Procedure there.
Resources for additional information:
Process Servers, Process Service Directory
A Process Server Directory
To advertise on this site, contact us here.