R. 4:104-8. — Signature Required; Effect of Signature

a. Required Signature as Certification. Every disclosure under Rules 4:103-1 and 4:104-7 and every discovery request, response, or objection under Rule 4:104 must be signed by at least one attorney of record in the attorney’s own name - or by the party personally, if unrepresented - and must state the signer’s address, e-mail address, and telephone number. By signing, an attorney or party certifies that to the best of the person’s knowledge, information, and belief formed after reasonable inquiry:

1. with respect to a disclosure, it is complete and accurate as of the time it is made; and

2. with respect to a discovery request, response, or objection, it is: A. consistent with these rules and warranted by existing law or by a non-frivolous argument for extending, modifying, or reversing existing law, or for establishing new law; B. not interposed for any improper purpose, such as to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the cost of litigation; and C. neither unreasonable nor unduly burdensome or expensive, considering the needs of the case, prior discovery in the case, the amount in controversy, and the importance of the issues at stake in the action.

b. Failure to Sign. Other parties have no duty to act on an unsigned disclosure, request, response, or objection, and the court must strike such submission unless a signature is promptly supplied after the omission is called to the attention of the submitting attorney or party.

c. Sanction for Improper Certification. If a certification violates this rule without substantial justification, the court, on motion or sua sponte, may impose an appropriate sanction on the signer, the party on whose behalf the signer was acting, or both. The sanction may include an order to pay the reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fees, caused by the violation.