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2020 SESSION
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 8.01-271.1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 8.01-271.1. Signing of pleadings, motions, and other papers; oral motions; sanctions.
A. Except as otherwise provided in §§ 16.1-260 and
63.2-1901, every pleading, written motion, and or other
paper of a party represented by an attorney shall be signed by at least one
attorney of record who is an active member in good standing of the Virginia
State Bar in his individual name, and the attorney's address shall be
stated on the first pleading filed by that attorney in the action. A party who
is not represented by an attorney, including a person confined in a state or
local correctional facility proceeding pro se, shall sign his pleading, motion,
or other paper and state his address. The signature of a person other than
counsel of record who is an active member in good standing of the Virginia
State Bar or a pro se litigant is not a valid signature. A minor who is not
represented by an attorney shall sign his pleading, motion, or other paper by
his next friend. Either or both parents of such minor may sign on behalf of
such minor as his next friend. However, a parent may not sign on behalf of a
minor if such signature is otherwise prohibited by subdivision 6 of § 64.2-716.
If a pleading, motion, or other paper is not signed in compliance with this
paragraph, it is defective. Such a defect renders the pleading, motion, or
other paper voidable.
B. The signature of an attorney or party constitutes a
certificate by him that (i) he has read the pleading, motion, or other paper,
(ii) to the best of his knowledge, information and belief, formed after
reasonable inquiry, it is well grounded in fact and is warranted by existing
law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of
existing law, and (iii) 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. If a pleading, written motion, or other paper is not signed, it
shall be stricken unless it is signed promptly after the omission is called to
the attention of the pleader or movant.
C. An oral motion made by an attorney or party in any court of the Commonwealth constitutes a representation by him that (i) to the best of his knowledge, information and belief formed after reasonable inquiry it is well grounded in fact and is warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification or reversal of existing law, and (ii) 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.
D. If a pleading, motion, or other paper is signed or
made in violation of this rule section, the court, upon motion or
upon its own initiative, shall impose upon the person who signed the paper or
made the motion, a represented party, or both, an appropriate sanction, which
may include an order to pay to the other party or parties the amount of the
reasonable expenses incurred because of the filing of the pleading, motion, or
other paper or making of the motion, including a reasonable
attorney's fee attorney fees.
E. Failure to raise the issue of a signature defect in a pleading, motion, or other paper before the trial court's jurisdiction expires pursuant to Rule 1:1 (a) and Rule 1:1B waives any challenge to that pleading, motion, or other paper based on such a defect.
F. Signature defects in appellate filings, including the notice of appeal, shall be raised in the appellate court where the appeal is taken. Failure to timely raise the issue of a defective signature in an appellate pleading, motion, or other paper while the case is pending before the appellate court waives any challenge to that pleading, motion, or other paper based on such a defect.
G. If a signature defect is not timely and properly cured after it is brought to the attention of the pleader or movant, the pleading, motion, or other paper is invalid and shall be stricken. A signature defect shall be cured within 21 days after it is brought to the attention of the pleader or movant. If a signature defect is timely and properly cured, the pleading, motion, or other paper shall be valid and relate back to the date it was originally served or filed.