NRCP 11

Signing Pleadings, Motions, and Other Papers; Representations to the Court; Sanctions

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Rule 11. Signing Pleadings, Motions, and Other Papers; Representations to
the Court; Sanctions

 (a) Signature. Every
pleading, written motion, and other paper must be signed by at least one
attorney of record in the attorney’s name—or by a party personally if the party
is unrepresented. The paper must state the signer’s address, email address, and
telephone number. Unless a rule or statute specifically states otherwise, a
pleading need not be verified or accompanied by an affidavit. The court must
strike an unsigned paper unless the omission is promptly corrected after being
called to the attorney’s or party’s attention.

 (b) Representations to the Court. By
presenting to the court a pleading, written motion, or other paper—whether by
signing, filing, submitting, or later advocating it—an attorney or
unrepresented party certifies that to the best of the person’s knowledge, information,
and belief, formed after an inquiry reasonable under the circumstances:

 (1) it is not being presented for any
improper purpose, such as to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly
increase the cost of litigation;

 (2) the claims, defenses, and other legal
contentions are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for
extending, modifying, or reversing existing law or for establishing new law;

 (3) the factual contentions have
evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, will likely have
evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation or
discovery; and

 (4) the denials of factual contentions are
warranted on the evidence or, if specifically so identified, are reasonably
based on belief or a lack of information.

 (c) Sanctions.

 (1) In General. If,
after notice and a reasonable opportunity to respond, the court determines that
Rule 11(b) has been violated, the court may impose an appropriate sanction on
any attorney, law firm, or party that violated the rule or is responsible for
the violation. Absent exceptional circumstances, a law firm must be held
jointly responsible for a violation committed by its partner, associate, or
employee.

 (2) Motion for Sanctions. A
motion for sanctions must be made separately from any other motion and must
describe the specific conduct that allegedly violates Rule 11(b). The motion
must be served under Rule 5, but it must not be filed or be presented to the
court if the challenged paper, claim, defense, contention, or denial is
withdrawn or appropriately corrected within 21 days after service or within
another time the court sets. If warranted, the court may award to the
prevailing party the reasonable expenses, including attorney fees, incurred for
presenting or opposing the motion.

 (3) On the Court’s Initiative. On
its own, the court may order an attorney, law firm, or party to show cause why
conduct specifically described in the order has not violated Rule 11(b).

 (4) Nature of a Sanction. A
sanction imposed under this rule must be limited to what suffices to deter
repetition of the conduct or comparable conduct by others similarly situated.
The sanction may include nonmonetary directives; 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 part or all of the reasonable attorney
fees and other expenses directly resulting from the violation.

 (5) Limitations on Monetary Sanctions. The
court must not impose a monetary sanction:

 (A) against a represented party for
violating Rule 11(b)(2); or

 (B) on its own, unless it issued the
show-cause order under Rule 11(c)(3) before voluntary dismissal or settlement
of the claims made by or against the party that is, or whose attorneys are, to
be sanctioned.

 (6) Requirements for an Order. An
order imposing a sanction must describe the sanctioned conduct and explain the
basis for the sanction.

 (d) Inapplicability to Discovery. This
rule does not apply to disclosures and discovery requests, responses,
objections, and motions under Rules 16.1, 16.2, 16.205, 26 through 37, and
45(a)(4). Sanctions for improper discovery or refusal to make or allow discovery
are governed by Rules 26(g) and 37.

 [Amended; effective March 1, 2019.]

Verbatim from the official publication; the only normalization is removal of the publisher's page headers. Verify against the official source for filing-critical use — court publications change without notice.