Court Imposes Remedy Against Vexatious Litigants

Copyright 2011, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Originally published in Blakes Bulletin on Litigation & Dispute Resolution, August 2011

For a nominal filing fee, a vexatious litigant can commence an action which can have many deleterious effects upon a defendant. Such claims are often prosecuted by self-represented litigants and divert scarce judicial and administrative resources from otherwise meritorious actions.

The Alberta legislature recognized that new remedies were needed to deal more effectively with serial litigants who institute vexatious proceedings and enacted amendments to the Alberta Judicature Act to deal with such parties.

Prior to the Judicature Amendment Act, 2007, an applicant was required to seek the Attorney General's consent to bring such an application, however, the 2007 amendments eliminated that need. At present, an applicant can apply to a single judge of the Court of Appeal, Court of Queen's Bench or Provincial Court for relief which