Rule 2-301.Form of action

Rule 2-301 is short because its job is simple: it declares that Maryland circuit courts recognize just one form of action, called the "civil action." Older systems of procedure split cases into separate categories — actions at law, suits in equity, and various common-law writs, each with its own rules and quirks. Maryland did away with that separation for circuit court practice. Whether a claim sounds in contract, tort, or an equitable remedy, it proceeds as a single civil action under the same set of rules, rather than being shoehorned into a particular historical form. The rules that follow — covering pleadings, parties, discovery, motions, and trial — apply across the board to that one form of action.