16 Tex. Admin. Code § 1.102 - Sanctioning Authority

(a) In the interest of justice, and after notice and opportunity for hearing, an order imposing sanctions may be issued by the Commissioners, the Hearings Director, or the examiner for:

(1) abuse of the discovery process, including failure to comply with a discovery order or subpoena issued by the Commission for deposition or production of books, records, papers, or other objects;

(2) filing a motion or pleading that is determined to be groundless and brought:

(A) in bad faith;

(B) for the purpose of harassment; or

(C) for any other improper purpose, such as to cause unnecessary delay or increase in the cost of the proceeding; or

(3) failure to obey an order of the Commissioners, the Hearings Director, or the examiner.

(b) The order imposing sanctions may:

(1) disallow any further discovery of any kind or of a particular kind by the sanctioned party;

(2) require the party, the party's authorized representative, or both to obey the discovery order;

(3) require the party, the party's authorized representative, or both to pay reasonable expenses, including attorney fees, incurred by reason of the party's noncompliance;

(4) direct that the matters for which the discovery order was made shall be deemed admitted in accordance with the claim of the party obtaining the order;

(5) refuse to allow the sanctioned party to support or oppose designated claims or defenses or prohibit the party from introducing designated matters in evidence;

(6) strike pleadings or parts thereof or abate further proceedings until the order is obeyed;

(7) disallow in whole or in part requests for relief by the offending party and exclude evidence in support of those requests; or

(8) dismiss the action or proceeding or any part thereof or render a decision by default against the sanctioned party.

(c) Any order imposing sanctions issued by the examiner or the Hearings Director is subject to review by an appeal to the Commissioners. The appeal shall be filed with the Docket Services Section, which will forward the pleading to the Commissioners and the Hearings Director.

Notes

16 Tex. Admin. Code § 1.102

The provisions of this §1.102 adopted to be effective June 1, 1991, 16 TexReg 2289; Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 42, Number 33, August 18, 2017, TexReg 4137, eff. 8/21/2017