December 13, 2007, Introduced by Senators RICHARDVILLE, KAHN, GEORGE, PAPPAGEORGE, GILBERT, SANBORN, BIRKHOLZ, McMANUS, ALLEN, VAN WOERKOM, KUIPERS, JANSEN, HARDIMAN, CASSIS, STAMAS and BROWN and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
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.