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N.D.R.Civ.P. 2

Not legal advice. Verify against official sources before relying on this text in any legal matter.

Rule 2 One Form of Action

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Rule Text

There is one form of action—the civil action.

Amendment history: (Adopted Nov. 29, 1979; amended Mar. 1, 2011.)

Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)

This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.

Here's a plain English summary:

North Dakota only has one type of lawsuit for civil matters. In the past, courts used different types of legal actions depending on what you were suing about, and each type had its own special rules and names. This old system was confusing and made it hard for regular people to understand how to bring a case.

Now, no matter what your civil dispute is about, whether it's a contract problem, a property dispute, or a personal injury claim, you file the same type of case: a civil action. You don't need to figure out which special legal category your problem fits into. You just start your case, and the same set of court rules applies.

This makes things simpler for everyone involved. You don't have to worry about picking the wrong type of lawsuit or using the wrong legal label. As long as you follow the standard rules for civil cases, your case can move forward.

Committee Notes

Rule 2 was amended, effective March 1, 2011.

This rule is identical to Fed.R.Civ.P. 2 and provides for one form of action to be known as a "civil action." The old forms of action have been abolished, as has the distinction between "law" and "equity" cases.

Even though one form of action has been substituted for actions at law and in equity, a distinction persists so far as the right to a jury trial is concerned. Article I, § 13 of the North Dakota Constitution preserves trial by jury in all cases in which it could have been demanded as a matter of right at common law.

Rule 2 was amended, effective March 1, 2011, in response to the December 1, 2007, revision of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The language and organization of the rule were changed to make the rule more easily understood and to make style and terminology consistent throughout the rules.

SOURCES: Joint Procedure Committee Minutes of January 24, 2008, page 14; November 29-30, 1979, page 2; Fed.R.Civ.P. 2.

CROSS REFERENCE: N.D.R.Civ.P. 8 (General Rules of Pleading).

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