English
EspañolWhat is the definition of abusive litigation in Rhode Island?
Abusive litigation is when the abuser uses the court system mainly to abuse, harass, intimidate, or threaten you, or as a way to have contact with you.1 This can include:
- filing lawsuits, complaints, or petitions against you;
- sending court notices, motions, or orders to appear;
- serving you with subpoenas, interrogatories, or requests for documents;
- sending deposition notices or other discovery demands.2
Abusive litigation often happens when an abuser wants to keep power and control over a victim who has left or is trying to leave a relationship.
If this is happening to you, you can ask a judge for an order restricting abusive litigation. This order can limit the abuser’s ability to file new cases or motions against you.
1 R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-8.4-1(1)
2 R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-8.4-1(4)
How can a judge stop abusive litigation?
If a judge decides that litigation is abusive, s/he can dismiss or deny the case or legal request “with prejudice.” This means the abuser cannot file it again.1
A judge can also give an order restricting abusive litigation. The order could make the abuser do any or all of the following:
- pay your attorney’s fees and other legal costs of responding to the abusive litigation;
- reimburse you for expenses like:
- court fees;
- lost wages;
- transportation costs; and
- childcare costs; and
- get a judge’s permission before filing any new cases against you or your children, known as a “pre-filing restriction;” and
- follow any other condition that the judge believes is necessary and appropriate.2
1 R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-8.4-4(a)
2 R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-8.4-4(b)
How do I prove the abuser is using abusive litigation?
A judge will assume the litigation is abusive if you can prove one of the following:
- You and the abuser had the same or a substantially similar case in the same or another court within the past five years;
- A judge already made a decision or dismissed a case about the same or a substantially similar issue in the last five years, after considering the evidence, facts, and the law (“a decision on the merits”);
- A judge punished (sanctioned) the abuser in the last five years for filing a baseless (frivolous), harassing (vexatious), hardline (intransigent), or bad faith case against you;
- A judge already ruled that the abuser used abusive litigation and placed a pre-filing restriction on him/her;
- The abuser’s legal claims are not based on existing laws or a reasonable argument for changing the law;
- The abuser’s claims lack evidence, and s/he is unlikely to find enough proof later after further investigation; or
- The abuser already lost the same issue in another court case after it was litigated in court and presented to the judge for a decision.1
If you can show one of the seven factors listed above, it creates what is called a “rebuttable presumption.” This means the judge will assume the abuser did file abusive litigation, and it is up to the abuser to prove otherwise.1
1 R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-8.4-3
