1999 Montana Legislature

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HOUSE BILL NO. 587

INTRODUCED BY J. STOVALL



A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT PROVIDING A PENALTY FOR FILING A FALSE PLEADING IN A CIVIL PROCEEDING OR FOR FAILING TO REASONABLY INQUIRE INTO WHETHER EACH ALLEGATION OR STATEMENT IN A PLEADING IS REASONABLE; AND PROVIDING AN APPLICABILITY DATE."



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:



     NEW SECTION.  Section 1.  Penalty for filing false pleading. (1) A party to a civil action or an attorney for a party may not file a complaint, answer, or other pleading that contains an allegation or statement known by the filing person to be false or file a pleading before making a reasonable inquiry into whether each allegation and statement in the pleading is well grounded in fact or law, or both, or is a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law.

     (2) If the trier of fact determines that a party or a party's attorney violated subsection (1), the court shall enter judgment against that party on the issue or issues to which the allegation or statement relates.



     NEW SECTION.  Section 2.  Applicability. [This act] applies to pleadings filed after [the effective date of this act].

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Latest Version of HB 587 (HB0587.01)
Processed for the Web on February 10, 1999 (4:30PM)

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