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People abuse the court system.

Sometimes for no other reason than to be a pain in the ass, or just hoping that by using a shotgun approach something might actually stick.

I had never heard of a “Vexatious Litigant List” before this week. Pennsylvania doesn’t have one, that’s for sure.

I had always been under the false impression that the abuse of the judicial system by those seeking quick out of court settlements, or who just want to see their names in the newspaper while promoting some personal agenda was an inherent fault in the system. Basically, every case must be heard on its merits with both parties in attendance.

I assumed that a judge can only impose a requirement for approval to file on a case by case basis and a motion must be made by the defendant to impose such restriction. That is, the court can restrict a plaintiff from filing on one case, but cannot restrict that person from filing as a plaintiff in an unrelated matter. They can still become a harasser using the courts as a bully stick.

It appears that state legislators can remedy that situation.

I only became aware of this possibility through a news story that originated in California. To make a long story short, a hired Nanny has become a deadbeat resident of the family who hired her.  Her payment was room and board, as advertised in the Craig’s List advertisement. Within a few weeks she stops working, complaining of health problems, only leaving her room to eat and use the facilities. The couple fires her, but she refuses to move out, claiming she is a tenant. It may be weeks before she is finally removed from the home through legal means.

What news reporters discovered was that this “Nanny” was on California’s Vexatious Litigant List. A list of people who had enough cases dismissed that they were found to be a nuisance plaintiff.

While they aren’t restricted from filing lawsuits, neither can they just submit paperwork, sit back, and put the defendant through the trouble and expense of arguing why the case is frivolous and should be dismissed.

Being on the Vexatious Litigant List requires them to file using a special form designating them to be what they are and they must convince a judge that the filing has merit before it can proceed. A defendant won’t even become one unless the Judge decides to let it proceed and then if it does, an argument can still be presented to have it dismissed. If it is, the plaintiff’s designated time on the list begins anew.

The California law has done much to slow down those private individuals and ambulance chasers who were clogging the system and wasting resources. Getting nowhere and being publicly listed as a person who wastes taxpayer money isn’t what frivolous filers want. Neither do they want to appear before a Judge and have to explain themselves, before they are even allowed to begin the process.

Pennsylvania needs the same type of relief.