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Vexatious litigation is legal action which is brought, regardless of its merits, solely to harass or subdue an adversary. It may take the form of a primary frivolous lawsuit or may be the repetitive, burdensome, and unwarranted filing of meritless motions in a matter which is otherwise a meritorious cause of action. Filing vexatious litigation is considered an abuse of the judicial process and may bring down sanctions on the offender.

A single action, even a frivolous one, is not enough to raise a litigant to the level of being declared vexatious. Roy L. Pearson, Jr., an Administrative Law Judge in the District of Columbia, who sued a dry-cleaner for $54 million for allegedly losing a pair of his trousers, is sometimes claimed to be a vexatious litigant; however, he does not have a history of frivolous action like the parties normally considered vexatious.^{[citation needed]}

Repeated and severe instances by a single lawyer or firm can result in eventual disbarment.

Some jurisdictions have a list of vexatious litigants: people who have repeatedly abused the legal system. Because lawyers could be disbarred for participating in the abuse, vexatious litigants are often unable to retain legal counsel, and therefore represent themselves in court. Those on the list are usually either forbidden from any further legal action or required to obtain prior permission from a senior judge before taking any legal action. The process by which a person is added to the list varies among jurisdictions.

Contents 1 Law by jurisdiction 1.1 California, United States 1.2 Victoria, Australia 1.3 United Kingdom 1.4 Canada 2 Notable vexatious litigants 3 References 4 See also

Under California law^[1] a vexatious litigant is someone in at least one of the following categories:

1. In the immediately preceding seven-year period has commenced, prosecuted, or maintained in propria persona at least five litigations other than in a small claims court that have been (i) finally determined adversely to the person or (ii) unjustifiably permitted to remain pending at least two years without having been brought to trial or hearing.
2. After a litigation has been finally determined against the person, repeatedly relitigates or attempts to relitigate, in propria persona, either (i) the validity of the determination against the same defendant or defendants as to whom the litigation was finally determined or (ii) the cause of action, claim, controversy, or any of the issues of fact or law, determined or concluded by the final determination against the same defendant or defendants as to whom the litigation was finally determined.
3. In any litigation while acting in propria persona, repeatedly files unmeritorious motions, pleadings, or other papers, conducts unnecessary discovery, or engages in other tactics that are frivolous or solely intended to cause unnecessary delay.
4. Has previously been declared to be a vexatious litigant by any state or federal court of record in any action or proceeding based upon the same or substantially similar facts, transaction, or occurrence.

As of 2006, only 13 people - included convicted mass-murderer Julian Knight - had been declared vexatious litigants since the law was introduced in 1930. ^[2]

UK courts have the means of escalating the sanctions against a litigant who makes applications to the court that are "totally without merit"^[3]:

• Limited civil restraint order (formerly a Grepe v. Loam Order) where two or more applications totally without merit are made in a single proceedings. No further application may be made in the proceedings without the permission of the court.
• Extended civil restraint order for "persistently vexatious behaviour" lasts for a specified period of no more than two years for "applications touching upon instant matters" and can only be granted by a judge of the Court of Appeal, High Court or a designated civil judge.
• General civil restraint order for a maximum of two years for all proceedings in the High Court or specified County Court(s).

Further applications totally without merit can lead to withdrawal of the right of appeal. Harassment of the court and court officials can lead to a penal prohibition notice, prohibiting the litigant from contacting or approaching the court without permission.^[4]

HM Courts Service maintains a list of vexatious litigants.^[5]

In Canada, under [2]Section 40 of the Federal Court Act and in Ontraio [3]Under Section 140 of the Courts of Justice ActJudges, Lawyers, the Law Society and the powerful corporation maliciously taking the right of citizens to the Courts, permanently. Larg numbers of immigrants are victim of these oppressive law that violate the Charter of Rights. Authorities: Toronto Hospital, Law Society of Upper Canada [Ontraio] Against Keyvan Nourhaghighi, Ontraio Court File Number 6938/06; The Law Society of Upper Canada, et al AgainstReddy Rajagopal Chavali . (Ont. S.C.J., Apr. 18, 2005) (31006); [4]Canada v. Keyvan Nourhaghighi, Federal Court File number T-1237-98;Canada v. [5]Keyvan Nourhaghighi, Federal Court File number T-1020-98;

• Julian Knight, convicted of the Hoddle Street massacre in Melbourne, Australia.[6]
• Gavin Menzies, author of 1421: The Year China Discovered America.[7]
• David James Lindsey, a Melbourne man so declared after repeatedly suing doctors, insurance firms and companies such as Carlton & United Breweries for smoking-related damages. On February 21, 2006, the Supreme Court of Appeal gave him leave to sue Philip Morris, demonstrating that a vexatious litigant is not completely blocked from launching further court action [8].
• Leo Stoller, American "intellectual property entrepreneur".[9]
• Valery Fabrikant, a former Concordia University professor serving a life sentence for the murders of four colleagues in 1992 [10]
• Suresh Deman, academic and former teaching fellow at Pittsburgh University [11]

1. ^ California Code of Civil Procedure, § 391(b)
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ Civil Procedure Rules, Practice Direction to Pt.3 3CPD.2.1
4. ^ O'Hare, J. & Browne, K. (2005). Civil Litigation, 12th ed., London: Sweet & Maxwell, para 7.011. ISBN 0-421-90690-1. 
5. ^ List of vexatious litigants (England and Wales). HM Courts Service. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.

• Abuse of process
• Barratry
• Malicious prosecution
• Strategic lawsuit against public participation (also known as "SLAPP")
• Scientology and the legal system