Rule 11_Sanctions

Front 1

Does rule 11 apply to any oral statements?

Back 1

No. Rule 11 only applies to written Pleadings, Motions, other Paper's

Rule 11 sanctions are limited to papers signed in violation of the rule.

Rule 11 sanctions do not apply to conduct in depositions, discovery meetings, oral representations at hearings, and behaviors in prior proceedings with the exception of Rule 11(b) where the attorney later advocates a representation in a former pleading that he has learned is erroneous.

Front 2

When may a court apply monetary sanctions to an attorney?

Back 2

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 11 provides that a district court may sanction attorneys or parties who violate Rule 11(b) by submitting pleadings for 1) an improper purpose (harass or needlessly increase the cost of litigation) or 2) that contain frivolous arguments or arguments that have no evidentiary support. Rule 11(b)

Front 3

Are procedural violations to Rule 11 subject to monetary sanctions?

Back 3

No. Procedural violations are not subject to monetary sanctions. Only claims arising from 11(b) violations.

Front 4

Why are monetary sanctions not applicable to procedural violations?

Back 4

Rule 11 is not intended to be a general fee shifting device particularly when the error was procedural as this may chill important employment discrimination litigation protected under Title VII (Bridges v. Diesel Services)

The court wants to encourage employment discrimination litigation protected under Title VII, so it won't issue monetary sanctions if the error is procedural and is easily corrected (Bridges v. Diesel Services)

Front 5

Can sanctions be non-monetary? What types of monetary sanctions can a court impose?

Back 5

The sanction may consist of, or include, directives of a nonmonetary nature, an order to pay a penalty into court, or, if imposed on motion and warranted for effective deterrence, an order directing payment to the movant of some or all of the reasonable attorneys' fees and other expenses incurred as a direct result of the violation. Rule 11(c)(4)

Front 6

What is the goal of rule 11?

Back 6

Rule 11’s goal is limited to what is sufficient to deter repetition of such conduct or comparable conduct by others similarly situated.
Rule 11(c)(4)

Front 7

Can the attorney receive rule 11 sanctions by the court without an opportunity to correct the pleading?

Back 7

No. Monetary sanctions cannot be issued by the court until a show- cause order has been issued by the court and the attorney has been able to explain why he has violated rule 11(b).

The show-cause order allows the attorney 21 days to withdraw, settle, or correct the pleading before sanctions are issued.

Front 8

Cases involving Rule 11 Sanctions

Back 8

Rule 11: The failure to assert the citizenship of all defendants in a complaint calls for sanctions (Walker v. Norwest Corp.)

Rule 11: Not all lawyer misconduct is subject to rule 11 sanctions: (Christian v. Mattei, Inc.: Barbie Case: To impose sanctions under its inherent authority, the district court must “make and explicit [which it did not do] that counsel’s conduct constituted or was tantamount to bad faith)

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11, a court may impose sanctions upon an attorney if it determines that the allegations and factual contentions in any pleading, motion, or other court submission are not supported by evidence or, with a reasonable opportunity to investigate, are not likely to be supported by evidence (Christian v. Mattei, Inc., Barbie Case)

Front 9

What if your client forgets to tell you something after the client truthfully tried to tell you accurate information and you have done due diligence to check it, but she remembers that she was inaccurate?

Back 9

Rule 11(b) says that you cannot later advocate an erroneous material fact to the court. So if you make an honest mistake in the pleading, it is not a violation of Rule 11 unless you later advocate the false information. You don’t have to rewrite or change the original pleading. The mistake can be fixed during discovery.