Rule 2. One Form of Action

Form of Action. There shall be one form of action, to be known as the “civil action.”

Law and Equity. The distinction between actions at law and suits in equity, and the forms of those actions and suits, are abolished. The Superior Court is a court of law and equity under 3 R. Stat. § 131.001, and the Administrative Court is a court of law and equity under 3 R. Stat. § 141.001. Relief at law and relief in equity may be sought in one action and in the alternative.

Proceedings Brought by Petition or Application. A proceeding which the law authorizes to be commenced by petition, application, or complaint in the nature of an extraordinary writ is a civil action for the purposes of these rules, and is commenced as Rule 3 provides. Rule 56 governs extraordinary writs.

Designation Immaterial; Case Type Material. No action shall be dismissed, and no relief shall be denied, solely because the pleading bears a designation other than that which its substance warrants; the court shall treat a pleading according to its substance. The case type, however, is not a designation but a record: it fixes the initiating filing code, the fee, the confidentiality of the matter, and whether the general filing channel is open. A case type is assigned at the creation of the case and is not thereafter alterable. Where an action has been commenced under a case type that does not correspond to the relief sought, the remedy is dismissal without prejudice under Rule 28 or rejection of the case under Rule 3(6), and the commencement of a new action of the correct type.

Remedies Not Limited. The existence of one form of action does not limit the remedies available to a party, nor abridge any remedy created by statute, nor authorize a remedy the statute forbids.