Reese

*1217 Opinion

In this case we hold that when a motion for sanctions against a party and her attorney has been noticed under Code of Civil Procedure section 128.7, 1 the trial court may not impose sanctions under section 128.5. We reverse the order awarding sanctions against Joanne Guy and her attorney, Philip A. Levy.

This appeal arises from a 1988 petition for dissolution of the marriage of David Reese and Joanne Guy. A 1993 child custody order gave Reese primary physical custody of their son and allowed Guy visitation.

In June 1996, Reese’s attorney, Nancy Bennett Bunn, filed, an order to show cause (OSC) to modify the custody order. The motion was supported by declarations of Reese and his friend, Jeanine Veldhuis. Reese would later explain that either he or his brother had signed Veldhuis’s name to the declaration after obtaining her approval of its contents. Veldhuis denied she had ever seen, signed, or authorized anyone else to sign a declaration on her behalf. When Levy indicated he would depose Veldhuis regarding her purported declaration, Bunn took the OSC off calendar. Reese subsequently obtained a restraining order against Veldhuis prohibiting her from telephoning…