North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 1A Rules of Civil Procedure

Article - Section

Article 1 - Scope of Rules - One Form of Action.

  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1.   Scope of rules
    These rules shall govern the procedure in the superior and district courts of the State of North Carolina in all actions and proceedings of...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 2.   One form of action
    There shall be in this State but one form of action for the enforcement or protection of private rights or the redress of private...

Article 2 - Commencement of Action; Service of Process, Pleadings, Motions, and Orders.

  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 3.   Commencement of action
    (a) A civil action is commenced by filing a complaint with the court. The clerk shall enter the date of filing on the original...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 4.   Process
    (a) Summons - Issuance; who may serve. - Upon the filing of the complaint, summons shall be issued forthwith, and in any event within...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 5.   Service and filing of pleadings and other papers
    (a) Service of orders, subsequent pleadings, discovery papers, written motions, written notices, and other similar papers - When required. - Every order required by...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 6.   Time
    (a) Computation. - In computing any period of time prescribed or allowed by these rules, by order of court, or by any applicable statute,...

Article 3 - Pleadings and Motions.

  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7.   Pleadings allowed; motions
    (a) Pleadings. - There shall be a complaint and an answer; a reply to a counterclaim denominated as such; an answer to a crossclaim,...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 8.   General rules of pleadings
    (a) Claims for relief. - A pleading which sets forth a claim for relief, whether an original claim, counterclaim, crossclaim, or third-party claim shall...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 9.   Pleading special matters
    (a) Capacity. - Any party not a natural person shall make an affirmative averment showing its legal existence and capacity to sue. Any party...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 10.   Form of pleadings
    (a) Caption; names of parties. - Every pleading shall contain a caption setting forth the division of the court in which the action is...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 11.   Signing and verification of pleadings
    (a) Signing by Attorney. - Every pleading, motion, and other paper of a party represented by an attorney shall be signed by at least...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 12.   Defenses and objections; when and how presented; by pleading or motion; motion for judgment on pleading
    (a) (1) When Presented. - A defendant shall serve his answer within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint upon him. A...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 13.   Counterclaim and crossclaim
    (a) Compulsory counterclaims. - A pleading shall state as a counterclaim any claim which at the time of serving the pleading the pleader has...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14.   Third-party practice
    (a) When defendant may bring in third party. - At any time after commencement of the action a defendant, as a third-party plaintiff, may...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15.   Amended and supplemental pleadings
    (a) Amendments. - A party may amend his pleading once as a matter of course at any time before a responsive pleading is served...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 16.   Pre-trial procedure; formulating issues
    (a) In any action, the court may in its discretion direct the attorneys for the parties to appear before the court for a conference...

Article 4 - Parties.

  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 17.   Parties plaintiff and defendant; capacity
    (a) Real party in interest. - Every claim shall be prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest; but an executor, administrator,...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 18.   Joinder of claims and remedies
    (a) Joinder of claims. - A party asserting a claim for relief as an original claim, counterclaim, cross claim, or third-party claim, may join,...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 19.   Necessary joinder of parties
    (a) Necessary joinder. - Subject to the provisions of Rule 23, those who are united in interest must be joined as plaintiffs or defendants;...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20.   Permissive joinder of parties
    (a) Permissive joinder. - All persons may join in one action as plaintiffs if they assert any right to relief jointly, severally, or in...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 21.   Procedure upon misjoinder and nonjoinder
    Neither misjoinder of parties nor misjoinder of parties and claims is ground for dismissal of an action; but on such terms as are just...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 22.   Interpleader
    (a) Persons having claims against the plaintiff may be joined as defendants and required to interplead when their claims expose or may expose the...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 23.   Class actions
    (a) Representation. - If persons constituting a class are so numerous as to make it impracticable to bring them all before the court, such...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 24.   Intervention
    (a) Intervention of right. - Upon timely application anyone shall be permitted to intervene in an action: (1) When a statute confers an unconditional...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 25.   Substitution of parties upon death, incompetency or transfer of interest; abatement
    (a) Death. - No action abates by reason of the death of a party if the cause of action survives. In such case, the...

Article 5 - Depositions and Discovery.

  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 26.   General provisions governing discovery
    (a) Discovery methods. - Parties may obtain discovery by one or more of the following methods: depositions upon oral examination or written questions; written...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 27.   Depositions before action or pending appeal
    (a) Before action. - (1) Petition. - A person who desires to perpetuate that person's own testimony or the testimony of another person regarding...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 28.   Persons before whom depositions may be taken
    (a) Within the United States. - Within the United States or within a territory or insular possession subject to the dominion of the United...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 29.   Stipulations regarding discovery procedure
    Unless the court orders otherwise, the parties may by written stipulation (i) provide that depositions may be taken before any person, at any time...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 30.   Depositions upon oral examination
    (a) When depositions may be taken. - After commencement of the action, any party may take the testimony of any person, including a party,...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 31.   Depositions upon written questions
    (a) Serving questions; notice. - After commencement of the action, any party may take the testimony of any person, including a party, by deposition...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 32.   Use of depositions in court proceedings
    (a) Use of depositions. - At the trial or upon the hearing of a motion or an interlocutory proceeding or upon a hearing before...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 33.   Interrogatories to parties
    (a) Availability; procedures for use. - Any party may serve upon any other party written interrogatories to be answered by the party served or,...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 34.   Production of documents, electronically stored information, and things; entry upon land for inspection and other purposes
    (a) Scope. - Any party may serve on any other party a request (i) to produce and permit the party making the request, or...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 35.   Physical and mental examination of persons
    (a) Order for examination. - When the mental or physical condition (including the blood group) of a party, or of an agent or a...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 36.   Requests for admission; effect of admission
    (a) Request for admission. - A party may serve upon any other party a written request for the admission, for purposes of the pending...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 37.   Failure to make discovery; sanctions
    (a) Motion for order compelling discovery. - A party, upon reasonable notice to other parties and all persons affected thereby, may apply for an...

Article 6 - Trials.

  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 38.   Jury trial of right
    (a) Right preserved. - The right of trial by jury as declared by the Constitution or statutes of North Carolina shall be preserved to...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 39.   Trial by jury or by the court
    (a) By jury. - When trial by jury has been demanded and has not been withdrawn as provided in Rule 38, the action shall...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 40.   Assignment of cases for trial; continuances
    (a) The senior resident superior court judge of any superior court district or set of districts as defined in G.S. 7A-41.1 may provide by...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 41.   Dismissal of actions
    (a) Voluntary dismissal; effect thereof. - (1) By Plaintiff; by Stipulation. - Subject to the provisions of Rule 23(c) and of any statute of...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42.   Consolidation; separate trials
    (a) Consolidation. - Except as provided in subdivision (b)(2) of this section, when actions involving a common question of law or fact are pending...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 43.   Evidence
    (a) Form. - In all trials the testimony of witnesses shall be taken orally in open court, unless otherwise provided by these rules. (b)...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 44.   Proof of official record
    (a) Authentication of copy. - An official record or an entry therein, when admissible for any purpose, may be evidence by an official publication...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 44.1.   Determination of foreign law
    A party who intends to raise an issue concerning the law of a foreign country shall give notice by pleadings or by other reasonable...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 45.   Subpoena
    (a) Form; Issuance. - (1) Every subpoena shall state all of the following: a. The title of the action, the name of the court...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 46.   Objections and exceptions
    (a) Rulings on admissibility of evidence. - (1) When there is objection to the admission of evidence on the ground that the witness is...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 47.   Jurors
    Inquiry as to the fitness and competency of any person to serve as a juror and the challenging of such person shall be as...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 48.   Juries of less than twelve - majority verdict
    Except in actions in which a jury is required by statute, the parties may stipulate that the jury will consist of any number less...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 49.   Verdicts
    (a) General and special verdicts. - The judge may require a jury to return either a general or a special verdict and in all...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50.   Motion for a directed verdict and for judgment notwithstanding the verdict
    (a) When made; effect. - A party who moves for a directed verdict at the close of the evidence offered by an opponent may...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 51.   Instructions to jury
    (a) Judge to explain law but give no opinion on facts. - In charging the jury in any action governed by these rules, a...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 52.   Findings by the court
    (a) Findings. - (1) In all actions tried upon the facts without a jury or with an advisory jury, the court shall find the...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 53.   Referees
    (a) Kinds of reference. - (1) By Consent. - Any or all of the issues in an action may be referred upon the written...

Article 7 - Judgment.

  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 54.   Judgments
    (a) Definition. - A judgment is either interlocutory or the final determination of the rights of the parties. (b) Judgment upon multiple claims or...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 55.   Default
    (a) Entry. - When a party against whom a judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed to plead or is otherwise subject to...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 56.   Summary judgment
    (a) For claimant. - A party seeking to recover upon a claim, counterclaim, or crossclaim or to obtain a declaratory judgment may, at any...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 57.   Declaratory judgments
    The procedure for obtaining a declaratory judgment pursuant to Article 26, Chapter 1, General Statutes of North Carolina, shall be in accordance with these...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 58.   Entry of judgment
    Subject to the provisions of Rule 54(b), a judgment is entered when it is reduced to writing, signed by the judge, and filed with...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 59.   New trials; amendment of judgments
    (a) Grounds. - A new trial may be granted to all or any of the parties and on all or part of the issues...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 60.   Relief from judgment or order
    (a) Clerical mistakes. - Clerical mistakes in judgments, orders or other parts of the record and errors therein arising from oversight or omission may...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 61.   Harmless error
    No error in either the admission or exclusion of evidence and no error or defect in any ruling or order or in anything done...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 62.   Stay of proceedings to enforce a judgment
    (a) Automatic stay; exceptions - Injunctions and receiverships. - Except as otherwise stated herein, no execution shall issue upon a judgment nor shall proceedings...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 63.   Disability of a judge
    If by reason of death, sickness or other disability, resignation, retirement, expiration of term, removal from office, or other reason, a judge before whom...

Article 8 - Miscellaneous.

  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 64.   Seizure of person or property
    At the commencement of and during the course of an action, all remedies providing for seizure of person or property for the purpose of...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 65.   Injunctions
    (a) Preliminary injunction; notice. - No preliminary injunction shall be issued without notice to the adverse party. (b) Temporary restraining order; notice; hearing; duration....
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 66 through Rule 67.   Omitted
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 68.   Offer of judgment and disclaimer
    (a) Offer of judgment. - At any time more than 10 days before the trial begins, a party defending against a claim may serve...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 68.1.   Confession of judgment
    (a) For present or future liability. - A judgment by confession may be entered without action at any time in accordance with the procedure...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 69.   Omitted
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 70.   Judgment for specific acts; vesting title
    If a judgment directs a party to execute a conveyance of land or to deliver deeds or other documents or to perform any other...
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 71 through Rule 83.   Omitted
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 84.   Forms
    The following forms are sufficient under these rules and are intended to indicate the simplicity and brevity of statement which the rules contemplate: (1)...

Last modified: March 23, 2014