English
EspañolAm I eligible to request an order restricting abusive litigation?
For you to be able to request an order, one of the following must be true:
- the person engaging in abusive litigation is your current or former family or household member, which is defined as:
- your current or former intimate partner;
- your current or former spouse;
- related to you by blood or marriage;
- someone who is living with you or has lived with you in the past three years;
- someone you have a child with; or
- someone you are currently dating or have dated or been engaged to within the past year; or
- there a civil order or criminal conviction finding that the person engaging in abusive litigation stalked or sexually assaulted you.1
In both of the above situations, you will also need to show that a judge has determined that this person committed abuse, stalking, or sexual assault against you in any of the following documents:
- a final domestic violence restraining order;
- a final protective order issued under section 15-5-19 of the law;
- a no-contact order;
- a final sexual assault protective;
- a final abuse prevention order issued by the court of any other state, including U.S. territories and any federally recognized Indian tribe, that has similar provisions to Rhode Island’s abuse prevention orders;
- a final order for alimony or custody of children;
- a criminal conviction, plea of “nolo contendere,” or a filed criminal charge in any state for one of the criminal offenses listed in section 12-29-2 of the law;
- a pending criminal charge for domestic violence in any state, if the court has imposed conditions on the abuser’s release to protect the safety of the victim; or
- a signed affidavit from a domestic violence or sexual assault advocate or counselor working on behalf of an agency that helps victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.2
1 RI Gen. Laws §§ 8-8.4-2(a); 8-8.4-1(2)
2 RI Gen. Laws § 8-8.4-1(1)(ii)
How can I request an order restricting abusive litigation?
You may request an order restricting abusive litigation in any of the following ways:
- in any answer or response to the abuser’s litigation being filed, started, or continued;
- by a motion made at any time in an ongoing court case;
- in an answer or response to any motion or request for an order;
- orally in any court hearing; or
- by filing a petition.1
If the abusive litigation is happening in District or Family Court, you can make your request for the order directly to the court where the litigation is happening. If nothing has been filed by the abuser yet, for example if the abuser is serving you un-filed papers directly in order to harass you, then the request for an order restricting abusive litigation must be made in Superior Court.2
1 RI Gen. Laws § 8-8.4-2(b)
2 RI Gen. Laws § 8-8.4-2(c), (d), (e)
Is there a fee to request an order restricting abusive litigation?
There is no filing fee to request an order restricting abusive litigation.1
1 RI Gen. Laws § 8-8.4-2(h)
Are there forms available to help me request an order restricting abusive litigation?
The Rhode Island courts provide these model forms so that you can more easily request that the abusive litigation be stopped even if you do not have a lawyer:
- Superior Court Motion for Abusive Litigation;
- Superior Court Petition for Abusive Litigation;
- Family Court Motion for Abusive Litigation; and
- District Court Motion for Abusive Litigation.
You can find more court forms on the Rhode Island Judiciary website. For more information about where you should file your request, see When and where can I request an order restricting abusive litigation?
