| (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.
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