Elsie Law's Daily Dose Of The Law

"The Rules of Civil Procedure are usually statutes passed by a legislature or rules issued by a state’s highest court. They govern such matters as:
Who can sue whom, for what kinds of wrongs and in which courts;
Which kinds of documents must be filed with the court to initiate a lawsuit and respond to it;
Time limits for filing various court papers;
What court papers must say to be effective;
What court papers must say to be effective;
What ways each side to a lawsuit can find out necessary facts from the other side and from third-party witnesses (discovery);
How a case is actually brought to trial;
To what kind of trial you are entitled (that is, by judge or jury);
To what kind of judgment and relief you are entitled if you win;
What happens to you if you lose; How you can enforce a judgment;
How you can appeal a judgment if you lose; and
What kind of appeal is available if the court does not comply with the laws in the pre-trial stage of the case.

You must follow these rules exactly. While some procedural mistakes can be fixed, especially if this is dome very promptly, many violations mean that your case is lost, just as surely as if you went to trial and the court or jury found against you.

Rules of Civil Procedure for the federal courts are found in Title 28 of U.S.C.A. Rules of Civil Procedure for state courts are usually found among the other state statutes in a code, title or chapter entitled 'Civil Procedure' or 'Court Rules.'" -From, "Legal Research" By: Elias & Levinkind