11 Obligations of the Parties and Lawyers

The parties and their lawyers must conduct themselves in good faith in dealing with the court and other parties.

The parties share with the court the responsibility to promote a fair, efficient, and reasonably speedy resolution of the proceeding. The parties must refrain from procedural abuse, such as interference with witnesses or destruction of evidence.

In the pleading phase, the parties must present in reasonable detail the relevant facts, their contentions of law, and the relief requested, and describe with sufficient specification the available evidence to be offered in support of their allegations. When a party shows good cause for inability to provide reasonable details of relevant facts or sufficient specification of evidence, the court should give due regard to the possibility that necessary facts and evidence will develop later in the course of the proceeding.

A party's unjustified failure to make a timely response to an opposing party's contention may be taken by the court, after warning the party, as a sufficient basis for considering that contention to be admitted or accepted.

Lawyers for parties have a professional obligation to assist the parties in observing their procedural obligations.