Rule 2 Application of Statutory Law and Circuit Court Practice in Absence of Rule

These rules control how civil cases are handled in magistrates court. They cover most of what happens in a typical case, but they don't address every possible situation that might come up.

When a situation isn't covered by these rules, the court has to fill in the gap. First, it looks at the state laws that apply to magistrates courts. If that doesn't answer the question either, the court can follow the same practices used in circuit court for similar situations.

The one limit is that whatever the court does to fill the gap can't clash with these magistrates court rules. In other words, outside laws and circuit court practices can help fill in missing details, but they can't override or contradict what these rules already say.