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Rule 1.413 – Verification abolished; affidavits; certification

May 13, 2021 | Civil Procedure, Iowa

1. 413(1) Pleadings need not be verified unless special statutes so require and, where a pleading is verified, it is not necessary that subsequent pleadings be verified unless special statutes so require. Counsel’s signature to every motion, pleading, or other paper shall be deemed a certificate that: counsel has read the motion, pleading, or other paper; that to the best of counsel’s knowledge, information, and belief, formed after reasonable inquiry, it is well grounded in fact and is warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law; and that it is not interposed for any improper purpose, such as to harass or cause an unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of litigation. If a motion, pleading, or other paper is not signed, it shall be stricken unless it is signed promptly after the omission is called to the attention of the pleader or movant. If a motion, pleading, or other paper is signed in violation of this rule, the court, upon motion or upon its own initiative, shall impose upon the person who signed it, a represented party, or both, an appropriate sanction, which may include an order to pay the other party or parties the amount of the reasonable expenses incurred because of the filing of the motion, pleading, or other paper, including a reasonable attorney fee. The signature of a party shall impose a similar obligation on such party. This rule does not apply to disclosures, discovery requests, responses, objections, and motions under rules 1.500 through 1.517, which are governed by rule 1.503(6).
1. 413(2) If a party commencing an action has in the preceding five-year period unsuccessfully prosecuted three or more actions, the court may, if it deems the actions to have been frivolous, stay the proceedings until that party furnishes an undertaking secured by cash or approved sureties to pay all costs resulting to opposing parties to the action including a reasonable attorney fee.
1. 413(3) Any motion asserting facts as the basis of the order it seeks, and any pleading seeking interlocutory relief, shall contain or be accompanied by an affidavit of the person or persons knowing the facts requisite to such relief. A similar affidavit shall be appended to all petitions which special statutes require to be verified.
1. 413(4) Any pleading, motion, affidavit, or other document required to be verified under Iowa law may, alternatively, be certified pursuant to Iowa Code section 622.1, using substantially the following form:

“I certify under penalty of perjury and pursuant to the laws of the state of Iowa that the preceding is true and correct.

_______________

Date

_______________

Signature”

Iowa. R. Civ. P. 1.413

Report 1943; amendment 1945; Report January 21,1986, effective April 1, 1986; October 31, 1997, effective January 24, 1998; November 9, 2001, effective February 15, 2002; August 28, 2014, effective January 1, 2015.