There shall be in this State but one form of action for the enforcement or protection of private rights or the redress of private wrongs, which shall be denominated a civil action.
Rule 2.One form of action.
Last verified July 3, 2026
In one sentenceRule 2 abolishes North Carolina’s old separation between actions at law and suits in equity, declaring that every civil claim — whatever right it enforces or wrong it redresses — proceeds under the single label of a “civil action.”
Full Text of Rule 2
Amendment History
(1967, c. 954, s. 1.)
Plain-English Summary
Before North Carolina adopted its modern rules, a claim for money and a claim for injunctive relief followed different procedural tracks, carried different names, and could be lost outright if a party picked the wrong one. Rule 2 erases that division with a single sentence: there is now but one form of action in this state, and it is called a civil action, whatever private right it enforces or protects or whatever private wrong it redresses.
The rule does not change what a party can recover or what a defendant can be made to do; it changes only the label and the procedural path a claim travels. A complaint may seek damages, an injunction, a declaration of rights, or any combination, all within the same single civil action and under the same set of rules.
Rule 2 works alongside Rule 1, which sets the overall reach of the civil rules, and Rule 8, which spells out what a pleading asserting a civil action must contain. Together they replace what was once a maze of separate forms with one uniform starting point for every civil claim.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a single lawsuit ask for both money damages and an injunction?
Yes. Because Rule 2 merges what used to be a separate suit in equity and action at law into one civil action, a single complaint can seek both kinds of relief without filing two cases.
Did North Carolina always call civil lawsuits a “civil action”?
No. Before the rule took effect, actions at law and suits in equity were distinct proceedings with their own forms and, in some instances, their own courts. Rule 2 combined them into the single civil action used today.
Does Rule 2 change what relief a court can award?
No. Rule 2 changes only the procedural form a claim takes, not the substantive rights or remedies available to the parties.
Source & verification. The rule text and history citation are reproduced verbatim from the
official North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 1A (N.C. R. Civ. P. 2). Enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly (S.L. 1967, c. 954, codified at N.C.G.S. § 1A-1). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 3, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: civil actionone form of actionmerger of law and equitylaw versus equityabolition of forms of actionsuit in equityaction at lawsingle form of civil action