These rules shall not be construed to extend or limit the jurisdiction of the District Court, the Superior Court, or the Supreme Judicial Court or the venue of actions therein.
Rule 82.Jurisdiction and Venue Unaffected
Adopted December 1, 1959 · Last verified July 8, 2026
In one sentenceRule 82 states that the civil rules themselves never expand or narrow a Maine court's subject-matter jurisdiction or the venue of an action.
Full Text of Rule 82
Advisory Committee’s Notes & Reporter’s Notes
Reporter's Notes — December 1, 1959
This rule is taken from Federal Rule 82. Presumably the rule-making authority does not permit the extension or limitation of jurisdiction or venue in any event.
Plain-English Summary
Some rules of procedure could, in theory, be read to sneak in a change to a court's jurisdiction or where a case can properly be filed. Rule 82 forecloses that reading directly: nothing in the Rules of Civil Procedure is to be construed as extending or limiting the jurisdiction of the District Court, the Superior Court, or the Supreme Judicial Court, or the venue of actions in those courts. Jurisdiction and venue remain creatures of the Maine Constitution and statute, not of the procedural rules that govern how a case moves once it's properly before the right court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a procedural rule create jurisdiction that wouldn't otherwise exist?
No, Rule 82 makes clear the civil rules don't extend or limit any Maine court's jurisdiction; jurisdiction comes from the Constitution and statutes, not the procedural rules.
Does Rule 82 set venue rules for Maine civil cases?
No, it only confirms that the civil rules don't extend or limit whatever venue rules already apply under other law.
Why include a rule that doesn't change anything substantive?
To remove any doubt that adopting detailed procedural rules was ever meant to alter jurisdiction or venue, both of which remain governed entirely by other sources of law.
Source & verification. The rule text and Advisory Committee’s Notes / Reporter’s
Notes are reproduced verbatim from the official Maine Rules of Civil Procedure (Me. R. Civ. P. 82), prescribed by the
Supreme Judicial Court of Maine (4 M.R.S. § 8, the Rules Enabling Act). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 8, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: jurisdiction unaffected by civil rulesvenue rule Maine civil procedure