(a) General requirement. Every filing or submission of record following the issuance of a notice of charges must be signed by at least one counsel of record in counsel's individual name and must state counsel's address, email address, and telephone number. A party who acts as the party's own counsel must sign the party's individual name and state the party's address, email address, and telephone number on every filing or submission of record. Papers filed by electronic transmission may be signed with an “/s/” notation, which will be deemed the signature of the party or representative whose name appears below the signature line.

(b) Effect of signature. (1) The signature of counsel or a party constitutes a certification that: The counsel or party has read the filing or submission of record; to the best of one's knowledge, information, and belief formed after reasonable inquiry, the filing or submission of record 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 the filing or submission of record is not made for any improper purpose, such as to harass or to cause unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of litigation.

(2) If a filing or submission of record is not signed, the hearing officer must strike the filing or submission of record, unless it is signed promptly after the omission is called to the attention of the filer.

(c) Effect of making oral motion or argument. The act of making any oral motion or oral argument by any counsel or party constitutes a certification that to the best of one's knowledge, information, and belief formed after reasonable inquiry, one's statements are well-grounded in fact and are warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law, and are not made for any improper purpose, such as to harass or to cause unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of litigation.

(d) Sanctions. Counsel or a party that fails to abide by the requirements of this section may be subject to sanctions pursuant to § 1081.104(b)(13).