Rule 11
The rule that makes your signature on a filing a certification that the facts have support and the law is not frivolous. It applies to pro se parties and carries sanctions.
What It Is
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 governs the signature on every pleading, motion, and paper filed in federal court. When you sign, you certify that, to the best of your knowledge after a reasonable inquiry:
- the filing is not presented for an improper purpose, such as harassment or delay
- the legal arguments are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument to change the law
- the factual contentions have evidentiary support, or, if specifically so identified, will likely have support after a reasonable opportunity for investigation or discovery
- denials of factual contentions are warranted on the evidence
Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(b).
It Applies to You
Rule 11 applies to “an attorney or unrepresented party.” A pro se plaintiff who signs a complaint makes the same certifications a lawyer does. Courts give pro se parties some leeway on legal arguments, but not on facts. Alleging something you know is false, or that you have no basis to believe, is sanctionable regardless of who signed.
The “Will Likely Have Support” Clause
Rule 11(b)(3) lets you plead a fact you cannot yet prove, but only if you specifically identify it as one that will likely have evidentiary support after discovery. This is the foundation of proper information-and-belief pleading. You must have a reasonable basis for the belief and be able to say what discovery is expected to show.
Sanctions
A party who believes a filing violates Rule 11 must first serve a motion on the other side and wait 21 days before filing it with the court. Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(c)(2). That “safe harbor” gives you a chance to withdraw or correct the filing. If you fix it in time, the motion cannot be filed.
Sanctions can include a warning, an order to pay the other side’s fees, or dismissal. Courts also may impose sanctions on their own initiative after notice and a chance to respond.
Why It Matters in a Section 1983 Case
Defendants sometimes threaten Rule 11 to intimidate a pro se plaintiff. A complaint that pleads facts you personally observed, attributes record facts to their source, labels inferences as inferences, and identifies information-and-belief allegations properly is not a Rule 11 problem. Read the complaint-writing guide for how to keep those four kinds of sentences separate.
The rule also cuts the other way. If the defense files a motion built on a mischaracterization of the record, the safe-harbor letter is available to you.
Key Authority
- Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(a) — signature requirement
- Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(b) — the four certifications
- Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(c) — sanctions and the 21-day safe harbor