Legal Definitions - vexatious

Vexatious describes actions or conduct that are undertaken without any reasonable or legitimate justification, primarily with the intent to annoy, harass, or cause trouble for another party. Such actions are often repetitive and lack a genuine legal or factual basis, serving no proper purpose beyond causing distress or inconvenience.

Here are some examples to illustrate the concept of vexatious conduct:

• Example 1: Repeated Baseless Lawsuits

  Imagine a situation where an individual repeatedly files lawsuits against a former business partner for trivial matters, such as minor accounting discrepancies that have already been thoroughly investigated and dismissed by previous courts. Each new lawsuit raises the same old, unsubstantiated claims, forcing the former partner to incur significant legal fees and emotional stress.

  Explanation: This conduct is vexatious because the individual is pursuing legal action without any reasonable or probable cause. The repeated filing of identical, baseless claims, especially after previous dismissals, demonstrates an intent to harass and annoy the former business partner rather than to genuinely seek justice.

• Example 2: Persistent Unfounded Complaints

  Consider an employee who consistently files numerous, identical complaints against a colleague with human resources, each time alleging minor infractions that are easily disproven or are not actual policy violations. Despite repeated investigations finding no wrongdoing, the employee continues to submit these complaints, disrupting the workplace and causing stress for the colleague and HR staff.

  Explanation: The employee's persistent filing of baseless complaints, especially when they are repeatedly found to be without merit, constitutes vexatious conduct. It serves to harass the colleague and burden human resources without legitimate cause, demonstrating an intent to annoy rather than to address a genuine workplace issue.

• Example 3: Abusive Information Requests

  A community member continuously submits public information requests to a local government office, asking for the exact same set of documents every week, even after being provided with them multiple times. The individual offers no new reason for the repeated requests and simply resubmits the same form, tying up staff resources and delaying responses for other legitimate inquiries.

  Explanation: This persistent and repetitive request for information already provided, without any new basis or purpose, is vexatious. It places an undue burden on the government office and serves no legitimate public interest, suggesting an intent to annoy or disrupt public services rather than to genuinely seek information.