RULE 61. HARMLESS ERROR
Effective Date: 11/29/1979
Obsolete Date: 3/1/2011
No error in either the admission or the exclusion of evidence and no error or defect in any ruling or order or in anything done or omitted by the court or by any of the parties is ground for granting a new trial or for setting aside a verdict or for vacating, modifying or otherwise disturbing a judgment or order, unless refusal to take such action appears to the court inconsistent with substantial justice. The court at every stage of the proceeding must disregard any error or defect in the proceeding which does not affect the substantial rights of the parties.
Rule 61 was amended, effective March 1, 2011.
Rule 61 is identical to Fed.R.Civ.P. 61.
Rule 61 was amended, effective March 1, 2011, in response to the December 1, 2007, revision of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The language and organization of the rule were changed to make the rule more easily understood and to make style and terminology consistent throughout the rules.
SOURCES: Joint Procedure Committee Minutes of January 28-29, 2010, pages 11-12; November 29-30, 1979, page 19; Fed.R.Civ.P. 61.
CROSS REFERENCE: N.D.R.Civ.P. 8 (General Rules of Pleading), N.D.R.Civ.P. 32 (Use of Depositions in Court Proceedings), N.D.R.Civ.P. 59 (New Trials Amendment of Judgments), and N.D.R.Civ.P. 60 (Relief From Judgment or Order); N.D.R.Crim.P. 52 (Harmless Error and Obvious Error); N.D.R.Ev. 103 (Rulings on Evidence).