Rule 2.One Form of Action.
Current through February 2024 · Last verified September 12, 2026
Full Text of Rule 2
Amendment History
Rhode Island does not publish a per-rule amendment history inside the compiled rules text reproduced here. The text above is verified current through the source’s own February 2024 printing; for the underlying adopting orders and any later amendments, see the Rhode Island Judiciary’s compiled rules page.
Plain-English Summary
The whole rule is one sentence: there is one form of action, and it is called a civil action. Every matter Rule 1(a) brings within these rules — a divorce, a separation, a support case, a custody case, a paternity case, an adoption, a contract dispute between spouses — travels under that one name.
What that spares a filer is the old problem of picking the right vehicle before anyone looks at the merits. There is no separate track to choose and no procedural label to get wrong at the door. Rule 2 sets up no different form for any of the subject matters Rule 1(a) reaches; where a particular rule treats a matter differently, that rule says so, and Rule 81 is the rule on applicability.
Read the rule for what it says and no more. It names the form of the action. It does not decide what relief the court can give, what a party must prove, or who hears the matter, and it does not merge claims that the rest of these rules treat separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a civil action in Rhode Island Family Court?
It is the single form of action Rule 2 recognizes. Whatever the subject — divorce, support, custody, paternity or adoption — the case proceeds as a civil action under these rules rather than as some separately named form.
Do custody cases and divorce cases follow the same procedure in Family Court?
They start from the same place. Rule 2 gives every matter one form of action, and Rule 1(a) brings both custody and divorce within these rules, so neither begins on a separate track. Where a particular rule treats a subject matter differently, that rule says so.
Does Rule 2 change what I have to prove in my case?
No. The rule speaks to the form of the action, not to the elements of any claim or the relief a court may order. Those come from other rules and from the law governing the particular matter.
Do I have to write civil action on my papers?
No. Rule 2 names the form of action; it does not tell you what to put on any individual document. What a pleading has to show comes from Rule 10, the rule on the form of pleadings.
Which rule says how a Family Court case starts?
Not this one. Rule 2 identifies the form of action, while Rule 3 covers commencement of an action.