Frivolous Litigation: Definition and Meaning

Frivolous Litigation is an English concept that means a lawsuit that is manifestly presented without merit, unjustified, or without any basis. It is the act of bringing a pointless lawsuit. These are filed in the court but have less possibility of succeeding in a courtroom trial. A frivolous lawsuit may occasionally be brought just to irritate or bother the opposing party. In other circumstances, a frivolous lawsuit may be brought in an effort to impede or postpone another legal action. A court will frequently reject a frivolous case without even considering the merits of the allegation.

What is the Meaning of Frivolous Litigation?

Use of the legal system to pursue unjustified claims is known as frivolous litigation. It also involves behaving carelessly by failing to conduct even rudimentary study on the pertinent legal issues and historical details, or by presenting an argument despite knowing it would undoubtedly fall short. The fact that a claim was unsuccessful does not mean the claim itself was baseless.

Frivolous lawsuits may be founded on nonsensical legal doctrines, include excessive or repeated motions or supplementary lawsuits, be rude or irritating to the court, or ask for excessive relief. A claim or defence would be deemed frivolous if it had any factual support or if no case was made for its reasonable extension or reinterpretation of the law.

Rationale behind Frivolous Litigation

There are instances where people with mental illnesses bring frivolous cases. However, majority of the time, frivolous lawsuits are brought for the following reasons −

• Harassing the accused − Getting sued is tremendously frustrating. The defendant must invest time, effort, and money even if the case has no validity in order to get it dismissed. Furthermore, if people learn about the case and believe it to be valid, the defendant's reputation may be damaged. For these reasons, plaintiffs frequently utilise frivolous lawsuits as a means of harassing defendants.

• Media attention − There are occasions when cases are only brought forth to create publicity. Often, advocacy organisations who want to draw attention to a problem file these cases.

Consequences of Frivolous Litigation

Most courts are overloaded with justifiable lawsuits. It's a good idea to have a backup plan in place in case the backup plan fails, and as a result there are certain consequences of filing frivolous litigation −

• The important thing is that judges have the power to punish attorneys and penalise claimants who bring unfounded claims.

• A defendant in a frivolous action has the right to pursue a claim against the plaintiff for malicious prosecution.

• The costs of having to fight against the frivolous case are included in the damages in a claim for malicious prosecution, which is a tort action.

Limitation on Frivolous Litigation

The limitations may be boiled down to only five distinct criteria, which are as follows −

• The current defendant must have actively participated in the beginning, continuation, or procurement of the original civil process;

• The original proceeding must have concluded in favour of the present plaintiff;

• There must be harm of the sort that the court considers proper for an action of this character;

• There must be a lack of probable cause for the original action; and

• There must have been "malice" in the bringing of the original action.

Impact on Filing Frivolous Litigation

The attorney who files a suit might suffer severe consequences if it is subsequently determined to be frivolous. The majority of successful frivolous claims are brought without legal representation.

If a judge describes an argument as "frivolous," it is the very worst thing that might happen. It indicates that the individual presenting the position is totally incompetent and has wasted everyone's time. That simply indicates that there was no other side, regardless of how eloquently the case was argued or whether the court merely chose the other side. Therefore, the court might impose a fine.

Conclusion

In frivolous litigation, there is always a chance that a judge may reject a lawsuit as frivolous if it is filed with the understanding that it is unlikely to prevail in court. A frivolous lawsuit may also subject the person who filed it to a number of legal sanctions. There are also legal repercussions for bringing baseless claims such as contempt of court accusations, monetary fines, and criminal prosecutions. Therefore, frivolous litigation has no legal and factual support in filing a suit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is a frivolous complaint?

Ans. A "frivolous" lawsuit or complaint lacks any substance or value. A frivolous claim is frequently one that is so unimportant, without validity at first glance, or lacking in substance that an inquiry would be excessively time- and money-consuming.

Q2. What are the examples of frivolous litigation?

Ans. The frivolous litigation has a wide range of categories such as −

• Submitting a dishonest or incorrect claim for vehicle insurance.

• Submitting a medical malpractice claim with an excessively high demand for damages.

• Attempting to sue an insurance provider for a claim that lacks legal support; and suing a person just for the goal of bothering them.

Q3. What is the difference between frivolous and meritless litigation?

Ans. In frivolous claims, the court might rule that "the plaintiff has no arguable basis to expect that may demonstrate the defendant's responsibility on the basis of any of the legal theories as states." On the other hand, in meritless litigation the judge "determines, following adversarial briefing or discovery, that a plaintiff's basis of relief is insufficient or that a reasonable judge could not find evidence that would allow a plaintiff to recover" in instances that lack merit.