tomterm8 vs A Financial Institution

[tomterm8]

As of today, I am going to send the following letter Registered Post:

The Attorney General
C/O The Attorney General's Office
20 Victoria Street
LondonSW1H 0NF

Dear Sir,

Re: Complaint with regard to vexatious litigation made against [ a Financial Institution], requesting that the Attorney General seeks an order under Section 42 of the Supreme Courts Act 1981.

It has come to my attention that [a Financial Institution]has engaged in a course of repeated and apparently malicious litigation in regards to alleged “penalty clauses” on its accounts.

A Financial Institution has consistently filed a template defence then subsequently settled each and every claim of this nature. Since May 2006, I believe that A financial Institution has been involved in over X00 claims of this nature in which it has filed an acknowledgement of service, then a Defence, then an allocation questionnaire, then has breached the order for pre-hearing directions, then has finally settled without liability shortly in advance of the hearing or trial. A sample list of some of these claims, including their claim numbers, is attached in Appendix A.

It is my belief that the Financial institutions litigation strategy is flagrantly abusive of the scarce public resources of the court system, and further, contrary to almost all of the Overriding Objective’s of the Civil Procedure Rules. It is respectfully submitted that the Financial Institution will continue to conduct litigation in this manner for as long as it is allowed to do so with impunity.

I ask you to investigate the matter further.

Yours truly,

[tomterm8]

FYI, What s.42 says:


42:--

• (1) If, on an application made by the Attorney General under this section, the High Court is satisfied that any person has habitually and persistently and without any reasonable ground-
  • (a) instituted vexatious civil proceedings, whether in the High Court or any inferior court, and whether against the same person or against different persons; or (b) made vexatious applications in any civil proceedings, whether in the High Court or any inferior court, and whether instituted by him or another ....
  the court may, after hearing that person or giving him an opportunity of being heard, make a civil proceedings order...
  1A In this section-
  • "civil proceedings order" means an order that
    • (a) no civil proceedings shall without the leave of the High Court be instituted in any court by the person against whom the order is made;
      (b) any civil proceedings instituted by him in any court before the making of the order shall not be continued by him without the leave of the High Court; and (c) no application (other than one for leave under this section) shall be made by him, in any civil proceedings instituted in any court by any person, without the leave of the High Court;
    (2) An order under subsection (1) may provide that it is to cease to have effect at the end of a specified period, but shall otherwise remain in force indefinitely.
    (3) Leave for the institution or continuance of, or for the making of an application in, any legal proceedings by a person who is the subject of an order for the time being in force under subsection (1) shall not be given unless the High Court is satisfied that the proceedings or application are not an abuse of the process of the court in question and that there are reasonable grounds for the proceedings or application.
    (4) No appeal shall lie from a decision of the High Court refusing leave for the institution or continuance of, or for the making of an application in, legal proceedings by a person who is the subject of an order for the time being in force under subsection (1). (5) A copy of any order made under subsection (1) shall be published in the London Gazette.

[ScarletPimpernel]

I see where you are going, and applaud it, but I've always understood that the vexatious litigant rules applied to those who initiate action either frivolously or without proper grounds, rather than those who abuse the judicial process as defendants.

[tomterm8]

The section expressly includes parties other than claimants:

or (b) made vexatious applications in any civil proceedings, whether in the High Court or any inferior court, and whether instituted by him or another ....

I won't talk about what "applications" means as yet, because i'm still seeking legal advice on that one, although i will say IMHO it extends further than the civil procedure rules seem to allow.

[ScarletPimpernel]

Thanks for the clarification.

At the target in front, in your own time, go on...