Coalition Government acts to limit vexatious litigation

The Victorian Coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to limit unjustified and costly claims brought by vexatious litigants.

Attorney-General Robert Clark said the Vexatious Proceedings Bill 2014 would introduce a more effective regime to control and prevent vexatious litigation in Victoria’s courts and tribunals.

“When frivolous claims are brought before the courts, individuals, businesses and governments are forced to incur unnecessary legal costs and expenses to defend their rights and the rights of taxpayers and the community,” Mr Clark said.

“The previous Labor government failed to act to protect Victorians from vexatious litigants, ignoring the findings of a wide ranging Parliamentary inquiry.”

The Coalition Government has drawn on key recommendations made by the Victorian Parliamentary Law Reform Committee in 2008 in developing these reforms.

At present, to have someone declared a vexatious litigant requires a Supreme Court application made by the Attorney-General, and the Court can only make an order if it is satisfied that someone has brought vexatious proceedings ‘habitually and persistently and without any reasonable ground’.

The legislation will replace this narrow and costly system with a range of options for ‘litigation restraint orders’ with increasing levels of restrictions based on the person’s specific conduct.

The legislation will allow victims of vexatious litigation to apply directly to the relevant court or VCAT to seek a litigation restraint order that will protect them. The court or VCAT will be able to take into account the person’s litigation history in deciding whether to make an order and what that order will apply to.

Courts and VCAT will be able to make a ‘limited litigation restraint order’ restricting further applications in a particular case, or an ‘extended litigation restraint order’ preventing the person bringing any further proceedings against a particular party or about a particular subject matter.

The Supreme Court will be able to make a ‘general litigation restraint order’ preventing the person from bringing any further legal proceedings in a Victorian court or tribunal. The Supreme Court will be able to do so either on application of the Attorney-General or on its own motion. If an order is made, the person subject to the order will only be able to bring any further proceedings with leave (permission) from the Supreme Court or the relevant court or tribunal to do so.

The legislation will also make it harder for persons who have had orders made against them to lodge repeated appeals against those orders or to start further court proceedings.

Persons who are subject to a litigation restraint order will be required to lodge a detailed written application to seek leave to bring any further legal proceedings. The relevant court or tribunal will have power to decide the leave application based on the papers without the vexatious litigant being able to have yet another day in court to make their application.

A court or VCAT will also be able to make orders against a person acting in concert with a person subject to a litigation restraint order, including where a person subject to an order tries to circumvent the regime by starting litigation in the name of a corporation they control.

“These changes to the system of controlling and preventing vexatious litigation are a further Coalition Government reform to build a better Victoria by strengthening the justice system,” Mr Clark said.

Mr Clark thanked all members of the Civil Procedure Advisory Group chaired by the Chief Justice who had contributed to the development of the reforms.