and further to my post above...
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 result in
sanctions against the offender.
A single action, even a frivolous one, is usually not enough to raise a litigant to the level of being declared vexatious. 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 such litigants therefore represent themselves in court. Those on the list are usually either forbidden from any further legal action or are 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. In
liberal democratic jurisdictions, declaring someone a vexatious litigant is considered to be a serious measure and rarely occurs, as judges and officials are reluctant to curtail a person's access to the courts.
These legal actions are occurring in some countries of the former British empire, where the
Common Law System still remains: Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, UK, and US, which are specified below. The
Civil (Codified/Continental) Law does not provide this kind of gate to limit equal access of citizens to the justice system.
Canada[edit]
Under the
Constitution Act, 1867, section 92(14),
[35] each province is vested with the power to enact and apply laws relating to the administration of justice within its own territory.
In Canada, Section 40 of the
Federal Court Act[36] and in Ontario Section 140 of the
Courts of Justice Act,
[37] restrict the ability to introduce or continue proceedings for those who have instituted vexatious proceedings or conducted proceedings in a vexatious manner.
Quebec[edit]
In Quebec, the Code of Civil Procedure is the principal legislation that sets rules related to civil procedure.
Under section 46 of the Code of Civil Procedure,
[38] all judicial courts and judges in Quebec are vested with "...all the powers necessary for the exercise of their jurisdiction". Furthermore, they may:
"…at any time and in all matters, whether in first instance or in appeal, issue orders to safeguard the rights of the parties, for such time and on such conditions as they may determine. As well, they may, in the matters brought before them, even on their own initiative, issue injunctions or reprimands, suppress writings or declare them libellous, and make such orders as are appropriate to deal with cases for which no specific remedy is provided by law."
[39]
Section 46 vests a very broad power on judicial courts and judges to ensure that the administration of justice is conducted according to decorum and according to the remedial nature of justice. As the courts's decisions have shown it, the authority to declare a litigant as vexatious is directly tributary to the power conferred by section 46.
Cases illustrating the application of section 46 are numerous. Among them, there are:
Nguiagain v. Commission de la fonction publique,
[40] in which the judge rejected the plaintiff's motion for a
mandamus to enjoin his union to revise the grievance that he had filed on the grounds that the motion was groundless and abusive;
De Niverville c. Descôteaux,
[41] where an injunction was rendered declaring the respondent, disbarred lawyer Descôteaux, as a vexatious litigant due to the multiple unfounded and frivolous actions that he had sought against the plaintiff De Niverville; and in
Fabrikant v. Corbin,
[42] a motion to declare the plaintiff
Valery Fabrikant as a vexatious litigant was granted to the defendant, Dr. Corbin. In all of the above cited cases, a litigant was only declared vexatious following a proceeding instated by the opposite party.
Moreover, section 46’s scope is limited to judicial courts and judges. Administrative tribunals are legislative creations and they can only exist and function within the limits that are imposed by law. Administrative tribunals in Quebec cannot declare a person a vexatious litigant.
As per section 90 of the
Rules of Practice of the Superior Court of Québec in Civil Matters,
[43] such litigants are now indexed in a registry kept by the Chief Justice in the judiciary district of Montreal. Lawyer and author Claude Duchesnay has reported in May 2003 that a document on the Quebec attorney general’s intranet contains the name of 58 persons who must obtain permission prior to instating proceedings before the courts.
[44]