§11.5 Purpose and Procedure

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§11.5PURPOSE AND PROCEDURE

The purpose of CR 11 is to deter baseless filings and curb abuses of the judicial system. Bryant v. Joseph Tree, Inc., 119 Wn.2d 210, 219, 829 P.2d 1099 (1992). CR 11, like the corresponding federal rule, was designed to reduce delaying tactics, procedural harassment, and mounting legal costs. Id.; United Nat'l Ins. Co. v. R & D Latex Corp., 242 F.3d 1102, 1115 (9th Cir. 2001). Both rules permit judges to impose sanctions—monetary or otherwise—on lawyers and/or parties who violate them.

CR 11 may be invoked by a motion for sanctions filed by the aggrieved party, or by the court on its own initiative. Although CR 11 does not require formal notice of intent to file a motion for sanctions (as Fed. R. Civ. P. 11 does), the Washington Supreme Court has...