Opinion ID: 2625018
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: judge anderson's motion for attorney fees.

Text: ¶ 31 Judge Anderson moved for attorney fees pursuant to rule 11 of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure. In denying Judge Anderson's motion, the court stated that sanctions should be denied because although the court's decision on the Motion to Strike was not a close call, the court finds that Plaintiff acted in good faith, although misguided, in attempting to have Judge Anderson found in contempt of the court for failure to comply with the Agreement. Rule 11(b) provides as follows: [12] Representations to court. By presenting a pleading, written motion, or other paper to the court (whether by signing, filing, submitting, or later advocating), an attorney or unrepresented party is certifying 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 or to cause unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of litigation; (2) the claims, defenses, and other legal contentions therein are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law or the establishment of new law; (3) the allegations and other factual contentions have evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, are likely to 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 a lack of information or belief. Rule 11(c) provides as follows: Sanctions. If, after notice and a reasonable opportunity to respond, the court determines that subdivision (b) has been violated, the court may . . . impose an appropriate sanction upon the attorneys, law firms, or parties that have violated subdivision (b) or are responsible for the violation. Rule 11(c) by its express terms vests discretion in the district court. A violation of rule 11(b) does not mandate the sanction of attorney fees. ¶ 32 Judge Anderson argues that the district court erroneously interpreted the legal requirements of rule 11(b). We review the court's interpretation of those legal requirements for correctness. See Morse v. Packer, 1999 UT 5, ¶ 10, 973 P.2d 422. Judge Anderson first contends that the court's finding that plaintiff acted in good faith indicates that the court misunderstood the requirements of rule 11. Specifically, Judge Anderson asserts that a party could present pleadings, motions, or other papers for an improper purpose, without necessarily acting in bad faith. However, Judge Anderson fails to articulate any basis for drawing that distinction in the context of the facts of this case. Judge Anderson asserts that Crank's counsel brought allegations of contempt for the purpose of harassing and embarrassing Judge Anderson. Such a purpose could not be pursued in good faith. If Judge Anderson's characterization of Crank's counsel's motive is true, then the allegations of contempt were brought in bad faith. Thus, the trial court did not ignore any purported distinction between bad faith and improper purpose, but rather simply disagreed with Judge Anderson's characterization of Crank's counsel's motive when it found that Crank's allegations were not brought in bad faith. We decline to set aside the court's finding with respect to rule 11(b)'s improper purpose prong. ¶ 33 Second, Judge Anderson maintains that the district court erred by impliedly reading all of rule 11(b)'s subparts as requiring a finding of bad faith. In other words, the court assumed that because Crank's counsel satisfied the good faith requirement of subpart (1), it was unnecessary to consider whether he had satisfied the requirements of subparts (2) and (3). Judge Anderson contends that each subpart furnishes a distinct basis for a finding of a violation of the rule. We agree. By its express terms, rule 11(b) provides that an attorney certifies that the requirements of each subpart are independently met. Subparts (2) and (3) of Rule 11(b) pertain to pleadings, motions, or other papers that are frivolous in terms of their lack of evidentiary support or legal basis for their maintenance. While bad faith may often be associated with violation of subparts (2) or (3), such is not a necessary element. See Pennington v. Allstate Ins. Co., 973 P.2d 932, 939 n. 3 (Utah 1998) (citing Taylor v. Estate of Taylor, 770 P.2d 163, 171 n. 13 (Utah Ct.App.1989)). A lawyer may bring frivolous or inadequately supported claims merely by failing to exercise the minimal required level of professional care and judgment. The court's ruling fails to address the question of whether Crank's allegations separately violated the requirements of subparts (2) and (3). ¶ 34 Although it remains within the court's discretion to apply sanctions under rule 11(c) even if it finds a violation of rule 11(b), we do not have a record indicating that the court even exercised its discretion with respect to subparts (2) and (3). We therefore remand for proper consideration of Judge Anderson's arguments with respect to those subparts. [13]