CSSSHB 42(JUD): "An Act relating to civil liability for certain false or improper allegations in a civil pleading or for certain improper acts relating to a civil action; amending Rules 79 and 82(b), Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure."
00CS FOR SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 42(JUD) 01 "An Act relating to civil liability for certain false or improper allegations in a 02 civil pleading or for certain improper acts relating to a civil action; amending 03 Rules 79 and 82(b), Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 09.65 is amended by adding a new section to read: 06 Sec. 09.65.190. Civil liability for false claims and improper practice. (a) 07 A person may not 08 (1) sign a civil complaint, answer, or other civil pleading that contains 09 false allegations that are material to the claims asserted in the civil action with the 10 intention of asserting allegations, claims, or defenses that are false; 11 (2) initiate or sign a civil pleading before making reasonable inquiry 12 and forming a reasonable belief 13 (A) in the existence of the facts upon which the claim or 14 defense is based; and
01 (B) that, under the facts described in (A) of this paragraph, the 02 claim or defense is valid under the applicable law; or 03 (3) participate as a party or as a representative of a party in the 04 continuation of a claim or defense after the person discovers that the claim or defense 05 is not 06 (A) supported by a reasonable basis in fact; or 07 (B) valid under applicable law. 08 (b) If the trier of fact determines that a party to a civil action intentionally 09 made a false statement of a material fact in connection with the prosecution or defense 10 of a civil action, the court shall enter judgment against the party making the false 11 statement on the issue to which the false statement relates. If the civil action involves 12 multiple claims and the false statement does not apply to all claims, the judgment 13 required under this subsection shall apply only to those claims to which the false 14 statement directly relates. 15 (c) A party who is injured by a violation of 16 (1) paragraph (a)(1) of this section may bring an action for 17 compensatory and punitive damages against the person who signed the civil pleading; 18 (2) paragraph (a)(2) of this section may bring an action for recovery 19 of compensatory damages against the person who wrongfully initiated or signed the 20 pleading; 21 (3) paragraph (a)(3) of this section may bring an action for 22 compensatory damages against the person who wrongfully participates in the 23 continuation of a claim or defense. 24 (d) If a party brings an action under (c) of this section, the court shall award 25 actual reasonable attorney fees and actual reasonable costs to the prevailing party. 26 (e) A person may not bring a civil action to recover damages under (c) of this 27 section unless 28 (1) a notice of the specific conduct alleged to violate (a) of this section, 29 with any supporting evidence, was served on the opposing party as required under the 30 Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, but not filed with the court; 31 (2) the challenged conduct was not appropriately corrected within 21
01 days after the notice described in (1) of this subsection was served; 02 (3) the person prevailed on the claim or defense that was the basis for 03 the notice described under (1) of this subsection; and 04 (4) final judgment has been entered in the civil action described in (a) 05 of this section. 06 (f) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit a good faith 07 argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law. 08 (g) This section does not apply to an action 09 (1) brought by a person incarcerated by the state; 10 (2) involving divorce or dissolution; or 11 (3) involving adoption, custody, support, or visitation of a child. 12 (h) In this section, "civil pleading" includes motions and affidavits. 13 * Sec. 2. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 14 to read: 15 INDIRECT COURT RULE AMENDMENT. AS 09.65.190(d), enacted in sec. 1 of 16 this Act, has the effect of amending Rule 79, Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, by allowing 17 the award of actual reasonable costs in certain civil actions. 18 * Sec. 3. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 19 to read: 20 INDIRECT COURT RULE AMENDMENT. AS 09.65.190(d), enacted in sec. 1 of 21 this Act, has the effect of amending Rule 82(b), Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, by allowing 22 the award of actual reasonable attorney fees in certain civil actions. 23 * Sec. 4. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 24 to read: 25 APPLICABILITY. This Act applies to an act or omission described under 26 AS 09.65.190, added by sec. 1 of this Act, that occurs on or after the effective date of this 27 Act. 28 * Sec. 5. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 29 to read: 30 SEVERABILITY. Under AS 01.10.030, if any provision of this Act or the application 31 of a provision of this Act to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of this
01 Act and the application to other persons shall not be affected.