Among the many dozen rules of Civil Procedure was a little-known and rarely used provision—Rule 11—that had been conceived half a century ago, in 1938. The rule had been intended to curb frivolous and irresponsible lawsuits, but it was so weakly worded and easy to circumvent that few lawyers ever wasted their time invoking it. Cheeseman had heard, however, that the Senate Judicial Conference was revising the rule to make it much stronger. Among other things, the proposed revisions would lay out harsh punishments—large fines, public reprimands, and even suspension—for lawyers who filed “sham and false” claims. The new Rule 11 had not been enacted yet, but that didn’t trouble Cheeseman. It had given him the idea, and as far as he was concerned, even the weak standard of the old Rule 11 applied to this case.

Jonathan Harr, A Civil Action, loc. 417