Opinion ID: 1259095
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: scope of cr 11

Text: [1] Before beginning an analysis of the specific issues raised by the parties, it will be helpful to review the contours of CR 11. CR 11 requires attorneys to date and sign all pleadings, motions and legal memoranda. Such signature constitutes the attorney's certification that: to the best of the ... attorney's knowledge, information, and belief, formed after reasonable inquiry it [the pleading, motion or memoranda] is well grounded in fact and is warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law, and that it is not interposed for any improper purpose, such as to harass or to cause unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of litigation. CR 11. CR 11 was modeled after the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (Rule 11), and federal decisions interpreting Rule 11 often provide guidance in interpreting our own rule. Bryant v. Joseph Tree, Inc., 119 Wn.2d 210, 218-19, 829 P.2d 1099 (1992). If it appears that CR 11 has been violated, the court, upon motion or upon its own initiative, shall impose upon the person ... an appropriate sanction [1] which may include reasonable attorney fees and expenses. Former CR 11. [2-4] The standard of appellate review for such sanctions is the abuse of discretion standard. Washington State Physicians Ins. Exch. & Ass'n v. Fisons Corp., 122 Wn.2d 299, 338-39, 858 P.2d 1054 (1993). In deciding whether the trial court abused its discretion, we must keep in mind that [t]he purpose behind CR 11 is to deter baseless filings and to curb abuses of the judicial system. Bryant, at 219. CR 11 is not meant to act as a fee shifting mechanism, but rather as a deterrent to frivolous pleadings. Bryant, at 220. Courts should employ an objective standard in evaluating an attorney's conduct, and the appropriate level of pre-filing investigation is to be tested by inquiring what was reasonable to believe at the time the pleading, motion or legal memorandum was submitted. Bryant, at 220. In deciding upon a sanction, the trial court should impose the least severe sanction necessary to carry out the purpose of the rule. Bryant, at 225. CR 11 sanctions are not appropriate where other court rules more specifically apply. Fisons, at 339-40.