Article II. Rules on Civil Proceedings in the Trial Court · Part B. Pleadings and Other Papers · Last amended 1982 · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceRule 135 lets equitable claims be pleaded as a single cause of action without separate counts, while letting joined legal and equitable claims be split into labeled counts when a party wants that distinction preserved.
(a)Single Equitable Cause of Action. Matters within the jurisdiction of a court of equity,
whether directly or as an incident to other matters before it, or which an equity court can hear so as to do complete justice between the parties, may be regarded as a single equitable cause of action and when so treated as a single cause of action shall be pleaded without being set forth in separate counts and without the use of the term “count.”
(b)Joinder of Legal and Equitable Matters. When actions at law and in chancery that may be prosecuted separately are joined, the party joining the actions may, if he desires to treat them as separate causes of action, plead them in distinct counts, marked respectively “separate action at law” and “separate action in chancery.” This paragraph applies to answers, counterclaims, third- party claims, and any other pleadings wherever legal and equitable matters are permitted to be joined under the Civil Practice Law.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 135 addresses how to plead matters that fall within a court’s equitable powers, whether those matters are the heart of the case or come up incidentally. Rather than forcing every equitable theory into its own count, the rule allows them to be treated together as a single cause of action, without labeling any part of the pleading a "count."
When a case joins claims that could have been brought separately at law and in equity, a party who wants to keep that distinction clear can plead them in separate counts, marking one as the legal claim and the other as the equitable one. This same option carries over to answers, counterclaims, and third-party claims wherever legal and equitable matters can be joined.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to break my equitable claims into separate counts?
No. Rule 135(a) lets matters within a court’s equitable jurisdiction be treated as a single cause of action without using separate counts or the word "count."
Can a lawsuit combine a legal claim and an equitable claim?
Yes, and Rule 135(b) lets the party pleading them mark them as distinct counts, labeled as a separate action at law and a separate action in chancery, if they want to keep the claims distinguished.
Does this rule apply only to complaints?
No, it also applies to answers, counterclaims, third-party claims, and other pleadings wherever legal and equitable matters may be joined.
What happens at trial to the legal and equitable parts of a joined case?
The pleading provisions here address how to plead the claims; the related trial procedures for joined legal and equitable matters are addressed in a separate rule.
Why would someone want to separate legal and equitable counts if the rule does not require it?
Keeping them distinct can clarify which claims carry a jury trial right and which are decided by the court, since legal and equitable claims are treated differently in that respect.
Committee Comments
This rule contains the pleading provisions of former Rules 10 and 11 without change in substance. The provisions of those rules relating to trial appear in new Rule 232.
Amendment History
Amended May 28, 1982, effective July 1, 1982.
Source & verification. Rule text, official Committee Comments, and
amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Illinois Supreme Court Rules,
promulgated by the Supreme Court of Illinois. Last verified July 20, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as:pleading equitable claims illinoischancery versus law countjoinder of legal and equitable claimssingle equitable cause of actionseparate action at law and in chancery