1. (a) Causes for imposition of sanctions. After notice and an opportunity for a hearing, a presiding officer, on the presiding officer's own motion or on the motion of a party, may impose appropriate sanctions against a party or its representative for the reasons specified under this subsection. If a hearing on the motion for sanctions is requested, one or more commissioners or a SOAH administrative law judge must hold a sanction hearing for purposes of this section. Sanctions may be imposed for:

   1. (1) filing a motion or pleading that was brought in bad faith, for the purpose of harassment, or for any other improper purpose, such as to cause unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of the proceeding;
   2. (2) abusing the discovery process in seeking, making, or resisting discovery; or
   3. (3) failing to obey an order of an administrative law judge or the commission.

2. (b) Types of sanctions. A sanction imposed under subsection (b) of this section may include, as appropriate and justified, issuance of an order:

   1. (1) disallowing further discovery of any kind or a particular kind by the offending party;
   2. (2) charging all or any part of the expenses of discovery against the offending party or its representative;
   3. (3) holding that designated facts be deemed admitted for purposes of the proceeding;
   4. (4) refusing to allow the offending party to support or oppose a designated claim or defense or prohibiting the party from introducing designated matters in evidence;
   5. (5) disallowing in whole or in part requests for relief by the offending party and excluding evidence in support of such requests;
   6. (6) requiring the offending party or its representative to pay, at the time ordered by the administrative law judge, the reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees, incurred by other parties because of the sanctionable behavior;
   7. (7) striking pleadings or testimony, or both, in whole or in part, or staying further proceedings until the order is obeyed;
   8. (8) limiting or disallowing the offending party's rights to participate in the proceeding;
   9. (9) dismissing the application with or without prejudice; and
   10. (10) imposing any other sanction available to the presiding officer by law.
3. (c) Procedure for seeking sanctions. A motion for sanctions may be filed at any time during the proceeding or may be initiated sua sponte by the presiding officer. A motion to compel discovery is not a prerequisite to the filing of a motion for sanctions. A motion should contain all factual allegations necessary to apprise the parties and the presiding officer of the conduct at issue, should request specific relief, and must be verified by affidavit. A motion must be served on all parties. Any order regarding sanctions issued by a presiding officer is appealable pursuant to §22.123 of this title (relating to Appeal of an Interim Order and Motions for Reconsideration of Interim Order Issued by the Commission). Any sanction imposed by the administrative law judge may be stayed to allow the party to appeal the imposition of the sanction to the commission.

Source Note:The provisions of this §22.161 adopted to be effective November 1, 1993, 18 TexReg 6641; amended to be effective September 8, 1995, 20 TexReg 6627; amended to be effective March 26, 2001, 26 TexReg 2351; amended to be effective March 18, 2026, 51 TexReg 1630.