West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure
Cited as W. Va. R. Civ. P. · 90 active rules
West Virginia's civil trial courts follow these rules for every civil action and proceeding, from filing a complaint through final judgment and appeal. Summaries, FAQs and full rule text are being added rule by rule.
Plain-English guides Browse West Virginia guides →Part I. Scope of Rules — One Form of Action
Part II. Commencement of Action; Service of Process, Pleadings, Motions and Orders
Part III. Pleadings and Motions
- Rule 7 Pleadings allowed; form of motions and other documents
- Rule 8 General rules of pleading
- Rule 9 Pleading special matters
- Rule 10 Form of pleadings
- Rule 11 Signing of pleadings, motions and other documents; representations to court; sanctions
- Rule 12 Defenses and objections: When and how presented; motion for judgment on the pleadings; consolidating motions; waiving defenses; pretrial hearing
- Rule 13 Counterclaim and crossclaim
- Rule 14 Third-party practice
- Rule 15 Amended and supplemental pleadings
- Rule 16 Pretrial conference; scheduling; management
Part IV. Parties
- Rule 17 Plaintiff and defendant; capacity; public officers
- Rule 18 Joinder of claims
- Rule 19 Required joinder of parties
- Rule 20 Permissive joinder of parties
- Rule 21 Misjoinder and nonjoinder of parties
- Rule 22 Interpleader
- Rule 23 Class actions
- Rule 23.1 Derivative actions
- Rule 23.2 Actions relating to unincorporated associations
- Rule 24 Intervention
- Rule 25 Substitution of parties
Part V. Depositions and Discovery
- Rule 26 Duty to disclose; general provisions governing discovery
- Rule 27 Depositions to perpetuate testimony
- Rule 28 Persons before whom deposition may be taken
- Rule 29 Stipulations about discovery procedure
- Rule 30 Depositions by oral examination
- Rule 31 Depositions by written questions
- Rule 32 Using depositions in court proceedings
- Rule 33 Interrogatories to parties
- Rule 34 Producing documents, electronically stored information and tangible things, or entering onto land for inspection and other purposes
- Rule 35 Physical and mental examinations
- Rule 36 Requests for admission
- Rule 37 Failure to make disclosures or to cooperate in discovery; sanctions
Part VI. Trials
- Rule 38 Jury trial of right
- Rule 39 Trial by jury or by the court
- Rule 40 Scheduling cases for trial
- Rule 41 Dismissal of actions or claims
- Rule 42 Consolidation; separate trials
- Rule 43 Taking testimony
- Rule 44 Proving an official record
- Rule 44.1 Determination of foreign law
- Rule 45 Subpoena
- Rule 46 Objecting to a ruling or order
- Rule 47 Selecting jurors
- Rule 48 Juries; verdict; polling
- Rule 49 Special verdicts; general verdict and questions
- Rule 50 Judgment as a matter of law in jury trials; alternative motion for new trial; conditional rulings
- Rule 51 Instructions to the jury; objections; preserving a claim of error
- Rule 52 Findings and conclusions by the court; judgment on partial findings
- Rule 53 Commissioners; discovery commissioners
Part VII. Judgment
- Rule 54 Judgments; costs
- Rule 55 Default
- Rule 56 Summary Judgment
- Rule 57 Declaratory judgments
- Rule 58 Entry of judgments
- Rule 59 New trials; amendment of judgments
- Rule 60 Relief from judgment or order
- Rule 61 Harmless error
- Rule 62 Stay of proceedings to enforce a judgment
- Rule 63 Judges inability to proceed
Part VIII. Provisional and Final Remedies and Special Proceedings
- Rule 64 Seizure of person or property
- Rule 65 Injunctions and restraining orders
- Rule 65.1 Security; Proceedings against sureties
- Rule 66 Receivers
- Rule 67 Deposit in court
- Rule 68 Offer of judgment; payment into court
- Rule 69 Executions and other final process; proceedings in aid thereof
- Rule 70 Judgment for specific acts; vesting title
- Rule 71 Enforcing relief for or against a nonparty
- Rule 71.1 Eminent domain
- Rule 71.2 Extraordinary writs in circuit court
Part IX. Appeals
- Rule 72 Appeals
- Rule 73 Abrogated — see Rules of Appellate Procedure. Abrogated
- Rule 74 Reserved. Reserved
- Rule 75 Reserved. Reserved
- Rule 76 Reserved. Reserved
Part X. Courts and Clerks
Part XI. General Provisions
West Virginia's civil procedure numbering follows the modern federal restyled scheme, with decimal rules layered in over time (4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 23.1, 23.2, 44.1, 65.1, 71.1, 71.2). Six rows carry no operative text and are shown below for completeness: Rule 5.1 and Rules 74-76 are Reserved, Rule 73 is Abrogated (superseded by the West Virginia Rules of Appellate Procedure), and Rule 87 is Abrogated.
Source: West Virginia Judiciary ·
Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia (W. Va. Const. art. VIII, § 3) ·
Current through January 1, 2025 ·
Official source