Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2020

These rules govern the procedure in all civil actions and proceedings in the United States district courts, except as stated in Rule 81. The rules should be construed, administered, and employed by the court and the parties to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding. 

In this booklet, you will find the process for commencing an action, pleadings, motions, summons, and orders. Additionally you will find procedural information about pretrial conferences and hearings, rights to a trial jury, jury selection, roles of the plaintiff and defendant, types of class actions, duty to disclose, including disclosure of expert testimony, trial preparation materials, using depositions in court proceedings, appeals, and more.

Foreword  III

Authority for promulgation of rules  V

Historical note  VII

RULES TITLE I. SCOPE OF RULES; FORM OF ACTION

Rule 1. Scope and Purpose  1

Rule 2. One Form of Action  1

TITLE II. COMMENCING AN ACTION; SERVICE OF PROCESS, PLEADINGS, MOTIONS, AND ORDERS

Rule 3. Commencing an Action  1

Rule 4. Summons  1

Rule 4.1. Serving Other Process   8

Rule 5. Serving and Filing Pleadings and Other Papers  8

Rule 5.1. Constitutional Challenge to a Statute—Notice, Certification, and Intervention  11

Rule 5.2. Privacy Protection For Filings Made with the Court   11

Rule 6. Computing and Extending Time; Time for Motion Papers 12

TITLE III. PLEADINGS AND MOTIONS

Rule 7. Pleadings Allowed; Form of Motions and Other Papers  14

Rule 7.1. Disclosure Statement   14

Rule 8. General Rules of Pleading  15

Rule 9. Pleading Special Matters   16

Rule 10. Form of Pleadings  17

Rule 11. Signing Pleadings, Motions, and Other Papers; Representations to the Court; Sanctions 17

Rule 12. Defenses and Objections: When and How Presented; Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings; Consolidating Motions; Waiving Defenses; Pretrial Hearing   19

Rule 13. Counterclaim and Crossclaim  21

Rule 14. Third-Party Practice 22

Rule 15. Amended and Supplemental Pleadings  23

Rule 16. Pretrial Conferences; Scheduling; Management  25

TITLE IV. PARTIES Rule

17. Plaintiff and Defendant; Capacity; Public Officers 27

Rule 18. Joinder of Claims 28

Rule 19. Required Joinder of Parties  28

Rule 20. Permissive Joinder of Parties 29

Rule 21. Misjoinder and Nonjoinder of Parties 30

Rule 22. Interpleader 30

Rule 23. Class Actions  30

Rule 23.1. Derivative Actions  35

Rule 23.2. Actions Relating to Unincorporated Associations  35

Rule 24. Intervention  36

Rule 25. Substitution of Parties  36

TITLE V. DISCLOSURES AND DISCOVERY

Rule 26. Duty to Disclose; General Provisions Governing Discovery 37

Rule 27. Depositions to Perpetuate Testimony 46

Rule 28. Persons Before Whom Depositions May Be Taken 47

Rule 29. Stipulations About Discovery Procedure 48

Rule 30. Depositions by Oral Examination  48

Rule 31. Depositions by Written Questions .................................................... 52

Rule 32. Using Depositions in Court Proceedings  53

Rule 33. Interrogatories to Parties  55

Rule 34. Producing Documents, Electronically Stored Information, and Tangible Things, or Entering onto Land, for Inspection and Other Purposes   56

XVI CONTENTS TITLE V. DISCLOSURES AND DISCOVERY—Continued

Page Rule 35. Physical and Mental Examinations 58

Rule 36. Requests for Admission 59

Rule 37. Failure to Make Disclosures or to Cooperate in Discovery; Sanctions  60

TITLE VI. TRIALS

Rule 38. Right to a Jury Trial; Demand  63

Rule 39. Trial by Jury or by the Court 64                                                                                                                   

Rule 40. Scheduling Cases for Trial  64

Rule 41. Dismissal of Actions  64

Rule 42. Consolidation; Separate Trials 65

Rule 43. Taking Testimony 66

Rule 44. Proving an Official Record 66

Rule 44.1. Determining Foreign Law   67

Rule 45. Subpoena .  67

Rule 46. Objecting to a Ruling or Order  71

Rule 47. Selecting Jurors  72

Rule 48. Number of Jurors; Verdict; Polling   72

Rule 49. Special Verdict; General Verdict and Questions 72

Rule 50. Judgment as a Matter of Law in a Jury Trial; Related Motion for a New Trial; Conditional Ruling 73

Rule 51. Instructions to the Jury; Objections; Preserving a Claim of Error 74

Rule 52. Findings and Conclusions by the Court; Judgment on Partial Findings   75

Rule 53. Masters  76

TITLE VII. JUDGMENT Rule 54. Judgment; Costs  78

Rule 55. Default; Default Judgment  80

Rule 56. Summary Judgment 80

Rule 57. Declaratory Judgment 82

Rule 58. Entering Judgment   82

Rule 59. New Trial; Altering or Amending a Judgment  83

Rule 60. Relief from a Judgment or Order 83

Rule 61. Harmless Error   84

Rule 62. Stay of Proceedings to Enforce a Judgment 84

Rule 62.1. Indicative Ruling on a Motion for Relief That is Barred by a Pending Appeal 85

Rule 63. Judge’s Inability to Proceed  86

TITLE VIII. PROVISIONAL AND FINAL REMEDIES

Rule 64. Seizing a Person or Property 86

Rule 65. Injunctions and Restraining Orders 86

Rule 65.1. Proceedings Against a Security Provider 88

Rule 66. Receivers 88

Rule 67. Deposit into Court 88

Rule 68. Offer of Judgment   89

Rule 69. Execution 89

Rule 70. Enforcing a Judgment for a Specific Act  90

Rule 71. Enforcing Relief For or Against a Nonparty   90

TITLE IX. SPECIAL PROCEEDINGS

Rule 71.1. Condemning Real or Personal Property  90

Rule 72. Magistrate Judges: Pretrial Order   94

Rule 73. Magistrate Judges: Trial by Consent; Appeal 95

Rule 74. [Abrogated.]

Rule 75. [Abrogated.]

Rule 76. [Abrogated.] TITLE X. DISTRICT COURTS AND CLERKS: CONDUCTING BUSINESS; ISSUING ORDERS

Rule 77. Conducting Business; Clerk’s Authority; Notice of an Order or Judgment  96

Rule 78. Hearing Motions; Submission on Briefs  97

Rule 79. Records Kept by the Clerk 97

Rule 80. Stenographic Transcript as Evidence 98

TITLE XI. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Rule 81. Applicability of the Rules in General; Removed Actions  98

Rule 82. Jurisdiction and Venue Unaffected 100

Rule 83. Rules by District Courts; Judge’s Directives  100

Rule 84. [Abrogated.] CONTENTS XVII TITLE XI. GENERAL PROVISIONS—Continued Page

Rule 85. Title 100

Rule 86. Effective Dates   101

APPENDIX OF FORMS [Abrogated.]

SUPPLEMENTAL RULES FOR ADMIRALTY OR MARITIME CLAIMS AND ASSET FORFEITURE ACTIONS

Rule A. Scope of Rules  104

Rule B. In Personam Actions: Attachment and Garnishment 104

Rule C. In Rem Actions: Special Provisions   105

Rule D. Possessory, Petitory, and Partition Actions  107

Rule E. Actions in Rem and Quasi in Rem: General Provisions  108

Rule F. Limitation of Liability 111

Rule G. Forfeiture Actions In Rem  114

Magistrate judges, civil attorneys, paralegal professions, Court clerk office staff, and others involved in the Civil Court system may be interested in this reference booklet. Additionally, corporations, nonprofit organizations, citizens, and law degree students pursuing coursework for civil law degrees may be interested in these rules. Law libraries and public libraries should have a copy of this volume available for their patrons.