The Federal Equity Rules were court rules that, until 1938, governed
civil procedure
Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits (as opposed to procedures in criminal law matters). These rules govern how a lawsuit or case may be commenced; what ki ...
in suits of
equity in
federal courts.
The Rules were established by the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point ...
which was authorized by the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washi ...
to make rules governing the form of
mesne process, form and mode of proceeding in suits of equity and the power to proscribe form of process, mode of framing and filing of proceedings or pleading and generally regulate the whole process of suits in equity Sets of rules were promulgated in 1822, 1842 (amended in 1850, 1854, 1861, 1864, 1869, 1871, 1875, 1879, 1882, 1890, 1892, 1893 and 1894), and in 1912 (amended in 1924, 1930 and 1932). The 1912 Rules were superseded in 1938 by the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (officially abbreviated Fed. R. Civ. P.; colloquially FRCP) govern civil procedure in United States district courts. The FRCP are promulgated by the United States Supreme Court pursuant to the Rules Enabli ...
which were largely based on the 1912 Rules.
[How Equity Conquered the Common Law: The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Stephen N. Subrin, ''University of Pennsylvania Law Review'' Vol.135 No. 4 (April 1987) pp.909-1002]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Federal Equity Rules
Equity (law)
1842 in law
1822 in law
1912 in law
United States civil procedure
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
Civil Procedure
Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits (as opposed to procedures in criminal law matters). These rules govern how a lawsuit or case may be commenced; what ki ...