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Federal Rules Of Civil ProcedureThe 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 Congres. 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 FRCP. The FRCP were first enacted in 1938; many of the rules have been substantially amended since then. Categories of Rules There are 86 rules in the FRCP which are grouped into 11 categories. Listed below are the most commonly used categories and rules. Category I - Scope of the FRCP Category I is a sort of "mission statement" for the FRCP, especially Rule 1, which states that the rules "shall be construed and administered to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action." Rule 2 unified the procedure of law and equity in the federal courts by specifying that there shall be one form of action, the "civil action." Category II - Commencement of Suits Category II covers commencement of civil suits including filing, summons, and service of process. Category III - Pleadings and Motions Category III covers pleadings, motions, defenses, and counterclaims. Rule 8(a) sets out the plaintiff's requirements for claim: a "short and plain statement" of jursidiction, a "short and plain statement" of the claim, and a demand for judgment. It also allows relief in the alternative. Rule 8(b) states that the defendant's answer needs to admit or deny every element of the plaintiff's claim. Rule 8(c) also requires that the defendant's answer state any affirmative defenses. Rule 11 requires all papers to be signed by the attorney. It also provides for sanctions against the attorney or client for harassment, frivolous arguments, or a lack of factual investigation. The purpose of sanctions is deterrent, not punitive. Courts have broad discretion about the exact nature of the sanction which can include: consent to in personam jurisdiction, fines, dismissal of claims, or dismissal of the entire case. The current version of Rule 11 is much more lenient than its 1980s version, under which civil rights attorneys were routinely sanctioned by conservative judges. Rule 12(b) describes pretrial motions that can be filed. - lack of subject matter jurisdiction
- lack of personal jurisdiction
- improper venue
- insufficient process
- insufficient service of process
- failure to state a claim
- failure to join a party under Rule 19.
Rule 12(b)(6) is how lawsuits with insufficient legal theories underlying their cause of action are thrown out of court. For instance, assault requires intent. If the plaintiff has failed to plead intent, the cause of action can be dismissed via 12(b)(6). The is the first of three procedural hurdles a cause of action must pass over before it gets to a trial. A 12(b)(6) motion cannot include additional evidence such as affidavits. For getting rid of claims with insufficient factual basis (where the movant must submit additional facts to demonstrate the factual weakness in the plaintiff's case), a Rule 56 motion for summary judgment is used. 12(b)(6) motions replaced the common law demurrer. Rule 13 describes when a defendant is allowed or required to assert claims against other parties to the suit. The law encourages people to resolve all of their differences, so some counterclaims or crossclaims are required to be asserted or they will be barred from future suit by res judicata. Category IV - Parties Category VI - Trial Category VII - Judgment External links
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