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EspañolWhat is the definition of abusive litigation in Washington?
“Abusive litigation” means a legal action taken in court or related to a court case that is intended to harass or intimidate you, or to continue to have contact with you.1 Abusive litigation can be any kind of legal action, including:
- filing or serving a summons, complaint, demand, or petition;
- filing or serving a motion, notice of court date, note for motion docket, or order to appear; or
- filing or serving a subpoena, subpoena duces tecum, request for interrogatories, request for production, notice of deposition, or another discovery request.2
Washington law recognizes that abusers often misuse court proceedings in order to control, harass, intimidate, or coerce their partner or to force them to spend money on litigation.3 If you are facing abusive litigation, you may be able to ask the court to restrict the ability of the abuser to continue to file new cases or motions.
1 R.C.W. § 26.51.020(1)
2 R.C.W. § 26.51.020(3)
3 R.C.W. § 26.51.010
What can a judge include in an order restricting abusive litigation?
A judge who finds that litigation is abusive will dismiss, deny, strike, or otherwise resolve any motions or other legal actions “with prejudice,” which means that they cannot be re-filed.1 The judge will also issue an order restricting abusive litigation, which will:
- order the abuser to pay all the costs of the abusive litigation;
- award you reasonable attorney’s fees and the costs of responding to the abusive litigation; and
- put pre-filing restrictions on the abuser to prevent him/her from filing any future cases against you or your children without court permission for anywhere from 48 to 72 months.2
1 R.C.W. § 26.51.060(1)
2 R.C.W. § 26.51.060(2)
How do I prove the abuser is engaging in abusive litigation?
There are certain circumstances that will create what is called a “rebuttable presumption” that the court case against you is, in fact, abusive litigation. This means that if you can show one of the following situations has happened, the judge will assume the litigation is abusive and the abuser would then bear the burden of proving otherwise:
- The same or substantially similar issues have been litigated in any court between you and the abuser within the past five years;
- The same or substantially similar issues have been raised or pled in a court case in the past five years and the judge heard the evidence and made a decision (decided on the merits) or it was dismissed “with prejudice,” which means it cannot be re-filed;
- The abuser has been punished (sanctioned) in the past ten years under Superior Court Civil Rule 11 or a similar rule or law in another state because s/he filed one or more cases against you that were found to be without a legal basis (frivolous), harassing (vexatious), “intransigent,” or in bad faith; or
- The abuser has been found by a court in another judicial district to have engaged in abusive litigation or similar acts and that court placed pre-filing restrictions on him/her.1
1 R.C.W. § 26.51.050
