| (a) The presiding officer has the authority to impose
appropriate sanctions against a party or its representative for:
(1) filing a motion or pleading that is deemed by
the presiding officer 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 needless increase in the cost of the proceeding;
(2) abuse of the discovery process in seeking, making,
or resisting discovery;
(3) failure to comply with a commission order; or
(4) violating §12.31 of this chapter.
(b) The presiding officer may issue an order imposing
sanctions when justified by party or representative behavior described
in subsection (a) of this section and after notice and opportunity
for hearing. Sanctions may include:
(1) disallowing or limiting further discovery by the
offending party;
(2) charging all or part of the expenses of discovery
against the offending party or its representatives;
(3) deeming designated facts be admitted for purposes
of the proceeding;
(4) refusing to allow the offending party to support
or oppose a claim or defense or prohibiting the party from introducing
designated matters into the record;
(5) disallowing in whole or in part requests for relief
by the offending party and excluding evidence in support of those
requests; and
(6) striking motions or testimony in whole or in part.
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