Alberta Court Closes The Door On Vexatious Class Action

The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench recently struck a proposed class proceeding as an abuse of process, refused to allow the proposed representative plaintiff (a non-lawyer) to represent the proposed class, declared the plaintiff to be a vexatious litigant, and restricted his future access to the Court.  In Biley v Sherwood Ford Limited, 2019 ABQB 95, the Court considered three separate actions by a self-represented plaintiff, including a $11 million proposed class action.  Justice Kendell rejected the plaintiff's argument that "[s]elf represented class actions may be the only realistic way this large class of vulnerable people receives justice" and held that the class action was "futile, abusive litigation" and the plaintiff was a "busybody" litigant with no legitimate interest in the proposed class action.