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SCRCP 2

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Rule 2 One Form of Action

I. Scope of Rules - One Form of Action

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Rule Text

There shall be one form of action to be known as "civil action".

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

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

South Carolina used to have different types of court cases with different names and different steps you had to follow depending on what kind of legal problem you had. This rule gets rid of all that. Now there's just one type of case, called a "civil action," that covers any non-criminal legal dispute.

This means you don't have to worry about picking the "right" type of lawsuit or following different rules based on old legal categories. Whether you're suing over a contract, a car accident, or a property dispute, you file the same type of case and follow the same basic procedures. This makes things simpler for everyone, since you don't need special legal knowledge about old court traditions just to get your case started correctly.

Committee Notes

Note:

These Rules are the same as Federal Rules 1 and 2 except the name of the State. Rule 81 provides that the Rules will apply also to Magistrate's, Probate and Family Courts where not inconsistent with the rules of those courts. Rule 2 is substantially identical to Code Sections 15-1-80 and 90. This Rule also abolishes the mostly cosmetic differences between "actions" and "special proceedings". A special proceeding is really only a civil action in which some special remedy is sought; i.e., writ of mandamus, writ of habeas corpus, etc.