Civil Procedure
Civil Procedure on the Oregon Bar tests application of the Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure (ORCP) and related statutes to pleading, jurisdiction, discovery, dispositive motions, trial, and appeal. Oregon is a fact-pleading state: ORCP 18 requires ultimate facts for each element, and ORCP 21 A allows dismissal for failure to state a claim. Personal jurisdiction needs an ORCP 4 long-arm basis plus due process; venue is statutory under ORS chapter 14.
Core rules
- Commencement: file the complaint and serve summons and complaint under ORCP 7. A defendant generally appears within 30 days after service.
- Summary judgment: ORCP 47 requires no genuine issue of material fact and entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, supported by admissible evidence.
- Claim preclusion bars the same claim and claims arising from the same transaction; issue preclusion bars actually litigated, essential issues.
- Discovery is broad but bounded by relevance and proportionality; failure to comply can lead to ORCP 46 sanctions.
Worked example
Plaintiff sues in Multnomah County after a crash in Clackamas County and serves by mail. Defendant moves to dismiss for improper venue and insufficient service. Venue in a tort case generally lies where the cause arose or where defendant resides, so the crash county is central. Mail service is valid only when ORCP 7 D authorizes it; otherwise service is insufficient. The court may transfer venue rather than dismiss, but may quash bad service. Reasoning: identify the rule, apply the facts, and match the remedy to the defect.
Traps
Do not import FRCP notice pleading or Rule 12(b)(6); do not ignore the ORCP 7 service timeline; do not treat venue and jurisdiction as interchangeable; do not forget that preclusion can bar unraised transaction claims.