Forms of Action

American colonies under English rule were less restrained by complicated distinctions among the various forms of action, probably because legal systems in the United States were less formal until a time when dissatisfaction with the technicalities of the forms was beginning to peak. For example, there were lawsuits where both trespass and case were used for the recovery of real property and for specific items of personal property. Trover and assumpsit frequently were used interchangeably.

As a result of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure applicable in federal courts and adopted to a large degree by many state courts, there is only one form of action, a civil action.