Courts would dismiss abusive lawsuits between relatives, partners, or housemates

Courts would hear defendants’ accusations of abusive lawsuits, dismiss cases proven abusive, and award defendants reasonable legal fees and defense costs. Both parties must be adults. Covered relationships include current or former partners and housemates, relatives by blood, adoption, or current or former marriage, and children of people in those relationships. The lawsuit must primarily aim to harass or maliciously harm the defendant. It must also lack a reasonable legal basis, lack supporting evidence, or repeat an issue the filer previously lost in court. The court must find it more likely than not that both the lawsuit and the person filing it meet the abuse definitions. The financial-harm rule excludes requests for appropriate punitive damages and good-faith financial changes based on changed circumstances. The parenting-interference rule excludes lawful, good-faith involvement. A defendant could raise the accusation while the lawsuit is pending. If enacted, the proposal would take effect upon publication in the statute book.

Courts would require people found to have filed abusive lawsuits to get permission before filing any civil lawsuit. The restriction would cover all civil lawsuits the person attempts to file, including lawsuits against people outside the earlier abusive case. The person would apply to the court that imposed the restriction. That court could permit a lawsuit it finds is not abusive. A proposed lawsuit against a defendant from an earlier case that led to the restriction would be presumed abusive unless that presumption is overcome. Courts would deny abusive applications and set the next application date. The person could appeal the finding of abuse. An approved lawsuit would require a permission order attached to the complaint and served on the defendant. Without either step, the defendant would have no duty to respond or participate in the case. The court would impose the restriction for at least 48 months and no more than 72 months when it finds the person and the pending lawsuit meet the abuse rules.

Courts would award reasonable legal fees and costs to plaintiffs who defeat an accusation that their lawsuit is abusive. The fee award would cover the plaintiff’s costs of defending against the abuse accusation. The court must find it more likely than not that the lawsuit is not abusive or the person filing it is not an abusive filer. Courts could also grant relief they consider fair, including a full or partial judgment for the plaintiff or favorable interpretations of the facts.