Rule 11.2.Abusive Litigation

Rule 11.2 gives trial courts a structured way to deal with a litigant whose filings abuse the process. It starts with two definitions. A “filer” is any party or other litigant who files, or on whose behalf is filed, a pleading, motion, or other submission. An “abusive litigant” is a filer whose conduct may include, among other things, filing frivolous, unreasonable, groundless, or repetitive claims; litigating in bad faith; citing fictitious legal authority; or egregiously violating the Rules of Trial Procedure or the Rules on Access to Court Records. The list is illustrative, not closed.

Section (B) sets how the finding is made. The court may act on any party’s motion or on its own, and it makes the finding that a filer is an abusive litigant after considering the filer’s litigation history.

Section (C) supplies the tools. After the finding, the court may, by order, impose reasonable conditions and restrictions on the filer’s ability to start or continue actions, tailored to that filer’s particular practices. The rule lists examples without limiting the court: requiring an affidavit under penalty of perjury with future filings; requiring a list of earlier cases on the same or related claims; striking future pleadings that are not short, plain, simple, concise, and direct; requiring the relief requested to be stated at the start of a motion; requiring page citations to supporting documents; requiring an explanation of why a new action is not barred by res judicata, collateral estoppel, or law of the case; limiting motions to reconsider and repetitive motions; limiting pages or words, title length, and exhibits; and, to the extent the law allows, denying a request to waive the filing fee when the filer is asserting a claim on which the court cannot grant relief, is seeking relief from an immune defendant, or is trying to relitigate a barred claim.

Section (D) reaches further. After an opportunity for a hearing, the court may impose sanctions once it finds bad faith or finds that the earlier remedies have failed. Sanctions can fall on any filer or attorney whose conduct led to the finding, and may include default, dismissal with prejudice, and payment of reasonable expenses and attorney’s fees. Section (E) keeps the court’s other tools intact: striking pleadings under Trial Rule 12(F), striking noncompliant filings under Rule 11(C) or Rule 11.1(D), and any other rule.