2022 Montana Code Annotated
Title 39. Labor
Chapter 71. Workers' Compensation
Part 29. Workers' Compensation Judge
39-71-2914. Signing of petitions, pleadings, motions, and other papers -- requirements -- sanctions

39-71-2914. Signing of petitions, pleadings, motions, and other papers -- requirements -- sanctions. (1) Every petition, pleading, motion, or other paper of a party appearing before the workers' compensation court and represented by an attorney must be signed by at least one attorney of record in the attorney's individual name. The signer's address also must be stated.

(2) A party who is not represented by an attorney shall sign the party's petition, pleading, motion, or other paper and state the party's address.

(3) The signature of an attorney or party constitutes a certificate by the attorney or party that:

(a) the attorney or party has read the petition, pleading, motion, or other paper;

(b) to the best of the attorney's or party's knowledge, information, and belief formed after reasonable inquiry, it is well grounded in fact;

(c) it is warranted by existing law or by a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law; and

(d) 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.

(4) If a petition, pleading, motion, or other paper is signed in violation of this section, the court, upon motion or upon its own initiative, shall impose an appropriate sanction upon the person who signed it, a represented party, or both. The sanction may include an order to pay to the other party or parties the amount of the reasonable expense incurred because of the filing of the petition, pleading, motion, or other paper, including reasonable attorney fees.

History: En. Sec. 63, Ch. 464, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 1552, Ch. 56, L. 2009.