Legal Definitions - Vexatious litigation

Vexatious litigation refers to legal proceedings that are started not because there is a genuine legal claim, but primarily to harass, annoy, embarrass, or financially burden the opposing party. The person initiating such litigation either knows, or should reasonably know, that their lawsuit lacks a legitimate legal basis and is unlikely to succeed.

Here are some examples:

• Imagine a former employee who was legitimately terminated for poor performance. Despite multiple court dismissals of their previous complaints, they continue to file new lawsuits against their old company, alleging minor, unsubstantiated grievances like "uncomfortable office chairs" or "insufficient coffee breaks." Their true intention is not to win a judgment, but to force the company to spend significant time and money defending itself against these baseless claims. This pattern of repeated, meritless lawsuits demonstrates vexatious litigation because the former employee is using the legal system to harass and burden their former employer without a valid legal cause.

• Consider a large corporation that files a series of lawsuits against a small, innovative startup, alleging minor patent infringements that their own legal team knows are weak and unlikely to hold up in court. The corporation's real goal is to drain the startup's limited financial resources and distract its management, thereby stifling its growth and competitive threat, rather than genuinely protecting its intellectual property. This constitutes vexatious litigation because the lawsuits are initiated with the malicious intent to harm the startup, despite a clear lack of strong legal merit.

• A homeowner, after a minor property line dispute was already settled through mediation and confirmed by a court, repeatedly files new lawsuits against their neighbor for trivial issues, such as "leaves from their tree falling on my lawn" or "their dog barking too loudly." These claims have no legal standing and have been dismissed in the past. The homeowner's persistent actions are driven by a desire to annoy and financially burden the neighbor, forcing them to incur legal fees and emotional distress, rather than seeking a legitimate legal remedy. This behavior exemplifies vexatious litigation due to the repeated, baseless legal actions taken with malicious intent.