Frivolous Or Vexatious
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In
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...
, frivolous or vexatious is a term used to challenge a
complaint In legal terminology, a complaint is any formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party or parties (the plaintiff(s)) believes are sufficient to support a claim against the party ...
or a
legal proceeding Legal proceeding is an activity that seeks to invoke the power of a tribunal in order to enforce a law. Although the term may be defined more broadly or more narrowly as circumstances require, it has been noted that " e term ''legal proceedings ...
being heard as lacking in merit, or to deny, dismiss or strike out any ensuing judicial or non-judicial processes. The term is used in several jurisdictions, such as England & Wales,
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. While the term is referenced in laws and regulations, it is often not defined by
statute A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...
, being developed instead by decisions of the courts.


General meaning

"Frivolous" and "vexatious" generally mean different things, however both are typically grouped together as they relate to the same basic concept of a claim or complaint (or a series of many) not being brought in good faith: * A ''"frivolous"'' claim or complaint is one that has no serious purpose or value. Often a frivolous claim is one about a matter that is so trivial, meritless on its face, or without substance that investigation would be disproportionate in terms of time and cost. The implication is that the claim has not been brought in good faith because it clearly has no reasonable prospect of success and/or is not significant enough to warrant its mention. * A ''"vexatious"'' claim or complaint is one being pressed specifically to cause harassment, annoyance, frustration, worry, or even bring financial cost (such as the engagement of a defence lawyer) to their defendant or respondent.


In Ireland


Meaning

The term is not defined in statute law, but has been defined in legal cases. One case was '' Keaveney v. Geraghty'', where the plaintiff's libel proceedings were stayed on the grounds that they were, '' inter alia'', frivolous, vexatious, and "an abuse of the process of the Court". The plaintiff was effectively declared a vexatious litigant. A case is frivolous if it has no reasonable chance of succeeding, and is vexatious if it would bring hardship on the opposite party to defend against an unnecessary and inevitably unsuccessful claim.


Usage

The term is used in many Acts of the ''
Oireachtas The Oireachtas ( ; ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...
'' and statutory instruments. For example, the Data Protection Commissioner shall investigate any complaint made to him about the contravention of the Data Protection Acts unless he is of the opinion that it is frivolous or vexatious and the head of a government department may refuse access to records under the Freedom of Information Act if the request is frivolous or vexatious. The High Court and Supreme Court may order judgement to be entered on an action or for it to be stayed or dismissed where an action or defence is frivolous or vexatious.Order 19, Rule 28 of the Rules of the Superior Courts
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See also

*
Frivolous litigation Frivolous litigation is the use of legal processes with apparent disregard for the merit of one's own arguments. It includes presenting an argument with reason to know that it would certainly fail, or acting without a basic level of diligence i ...
*
Vexatious litigation Vexatious litigation is legal action which is brought 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 whic ...
* Isaac Wunder order


References


Further reading


"Isaac Wunder" orders
which may be made in the event of frivolous or vexatious litigation, unconstitutional

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frivolous Or Vexatious Abuse of the legal system Civil procedure Law of the Republic of Ireland Law of New Zealand Civil procedure legal terminology