A vexatious proceeding is an abuse of the process of the court.
In his Law Dictionary, John Bouvier wrote:
"A vexatious suit is one which has been instituted maliciously."
Mozley and Whitley (1962) write:
"Vexatious action: an action brought merely for the sake of annoyance or oppression. The court has an inherent power to stay such an action."
In A Concise Law Dictionary, P. G. Osborn writes:
"A proceeding in which the party bringing it is not acting bona fides, and merely wishes to annoy or embarrass his opponent, or which is not calculated to lead to any practical result.
"Such a proceeding is often described as frivolous and vexatious and the court may stay it on that ground ... under its inherent jurisdiction. But the inherent jurisdiction ... must be used sparingly and can be invoked only if the cause of action revealed in the statement of claim is bad."
In Hillside Investments,Justice Marshall adopted these words:
"... a vexatious proceeding, brought to embarrass or annoy the other party. It was not carried out in good faith and lacked bona fides."
REFERENCES:
- Alberta Rules of Court, Alberta Regulation #390/1968, §129
- Hillside Investments v Boychuk 2001 ABQB 782; also at 300 AR 375; 19 BLR 3d 205 and 2001 AJ 1251
- Rules of Civil Procedure, Revised Regulations of Ontario 1990, Reg. #194, §21.01(1)(d), §25.11(b) and §37.16
- Supreme Court Rules, British Columbia Regulation #221/90, Rule 19(24)