Filing of papers: Signature requirement and effect.

§ 201.153 Filing of papers: Signature requirement and effect. (a) General requirements. Following the issuance of an order instituting proceedings, every filing of a party represented by counsel shall be signed by at least one counsel of record in his or her name and shall state that counsel's business address and telephone number. A party who acts as his or her own counsel shall sign his or her individual name and state his or her address and telephone number on every filing. (b) Effect of signature. (1) The signature of a counsel or party shall constitute a certification that: (i) the person signing the filing has read the filing; (ii) to the best of his or her knowledge, information, and belief, formed after reasonable inquiry, the filing 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 (iii) the filing is not made for any improper purpose, such as to harass or to cause unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of adjudication. (2) If a filing is not signed, the hearing officer or the Commission shall strike the filing, unless it is signed promptly after the omission is called to the attention of the person making the filing.