Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code - Section 9.012. Violation; Sanction
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§ 9.012. VIOLATION; SANCTION. (a) At the trial of the
action or at any hearing inquiring into the facts and law of the
action, after reasonable notice to the parties, the court may on its
own motion, or shall on the motion of any party to the action,
determine if a pleading has been signed in violation of any one of
the standards prescribed by Section 9.011.
(b) In making its determination of whether a pleading has
been signed in violation of any one of the standards prescribed by
Section 9.011, the court shall take into account:
(1) the multiplicity of parties;
(2) the complexity of the claims and defenses;
(3) the length of time available to the party to
investigate and conduct discovery; and
(4) affidavits, depositions, and any other relevant
matter.
(c) If the court determines that a pleading has been signed
in violation of any one of the standards prescribed by Section
9.011, the court shall, not earlier than 90 days after the date of
the determination, at the trial or hearing or at a separate hearing
following reasonable notice to the offending party, impose an
appropriate sanction on the signatory, a represented party, or
both.
(d) The court may not order an offending party to pay the
incurred expenses of a party who stands in opposition to the
offending pleading if, before the 90th day after the court makes a
determination under Subsection (a), the offending party withdraws
the pleading or amends the pleading to the satisfaction of the court
or moves for dismissal of the pleading or the offending portion of
the pleading.
(e) The sanction may include one or more of the following:
(1) the striking of a pleading or the offending
portion thereof;
(2) the dismissal of a party; or
(3) an order to pay to a party who stands in opposition
to the offending pleading the amount of the reasonable expenses
incurred because of the filing of the pleading, including costs,
reasonable attorney's fees, witness fees, fees of experts, and
deposition expenses.
(f) The court may not order an offending party to pay the
incurred expenses of a party who stands in opposition to the
offending pleading if the court has, with respect to the same
subject matter, imposed sanctions on the party who stands in
opposition to the offending pleading under the Texas Rules of Civil
Procedure.
(g) All determinations and orders pursuant to this chapter
are solely for purposes of this chapter and shall not be the basis
of any liability, sanction, or grievance other than as expressly
provided in this chapter.
(h) This section does not apply to any proceeding to which
Section 10.004 or Rule 13, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, applies.
Added by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., 1st C.S., ch. 2, § 2.01, eff.
Sept. 2, 1987. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1111, § 1,
eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
Section: 8.01 8.02 9.001 9.002 9.003 9.004 9.011 9.012 9.013 9.014 10.001 10.002 10.003 10.004 10.005
Last modified: August 10, 2007
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