April 26, 2006, Introduced by Reps. Hildenbrand, Gosselin, Kooiman, Stahl, Robertson, Huizenga, Vander Veen, Garfield, Nofs, Caswell, Hummel, Pastor, Ball and Kahn and referred to the Committee on Tort Reform.
A bill to amend 1961 PA 236, entitled
"Revised judicature act of 1961,"
by amending section 2591 (MCL 600.2591), as added by 1986 PA 178.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec.
2591. (1) Upon If,
on motion of any party to a civil
action, if a the
court finds that a
civil the action or a
defense
to a civil the action was frivolous,
the court that
conducts
the civil action shall award to the prevailing party the
costs
and fees incurred by that party in connection with the civil
action by assessing the costs and fees against the nonprevailing
party
and their the
nonprevailing party's attorney.
(2) The amount of costs and fees awarded under this section
shall include all reasonable costs actually incurred by the
prevailing party and any costs allowed by law or by court rule,
including court costs and reasonable attorney fees.
(3) In addition to other costs and fees awarded under this
section, the court may impose an appropriate sanction on the
attorneys, law firms, or parties that initiated the action or
asserted the defense found to be frivolous. A sanction imposed
under this subsection shall not exceed an amount sufficient to
deter the repetition of the conduct or comparable conduct by others
similarly situated.
(4) (3)
As used in this section:
(a) "Frivolous" means that at least 1 of the following
conditions is met:
(i) The party's primary purpose in initiating the action or
asserting the defense was to harass, embarrass, or injure the
prevailing party.
(ii) The party had no reasonable basis to believe that the
facts underlying that party's legal position were in fact true.
(iii) The party's legal position was devoid of arguable legal
merit.
(b) "Prevailing party" means a party who wins on the entire
record.