Rule 3.Commencement of Action

Rule 15-6-3 is a short pointer rule. Rather than spelling out how a civil action begins, it directs litigants to §§ 15-2-30 and 15-2-31 for that mechanic. Commencement matters because it is the trigger for statutes of limitations, for the clock on service deadlines, and for many other time-sensitive steps that follow throughout a case.

By cross-referencing rather than restating the commencement procedure, Rule 15-6-3 keeps the timing rules for starting a case in one place rather than duplicating them across the rules of civil procedure and the broader code. That matters when the legislature or the courts later revise how actions are commenced — the change only needs to happen where the substantive rule lives, and this rule’s pointer stays accurate.

Once an action is commenced, the rest of this chapter takes over — process must be issued and served under Rule 15-6-4, and pleadings must follow the form and content rules in Rules 15-6-7 through 15-6-10. Rule 15-6-3 is the hinge between the commencement mechanics found elsewhere in the code and everything this chapter governs from that point forward.