The most basic purpose of the courts is to right wrongs, but achieving that goal is sometimes complicated by malicious misuse of the system. The challenge for judges lies in preserving legitimate access to justice while simultaneously preventing wrongful use of the process.  If you believe that a legal proceeding is being misused against you to achieve an ulterior motive that’s beyond the scope of the filed claim, the best way to prove it is to demonstrate what those motives are. It’s not always easy to do.

Proving an ulterior motive behind a legal proceeding requires showing the court what those improper objectives are and drawing a straight line between the unrelated matter and the abusive claim. Say, for example, an individual is struggling to obtain a beneficial contract and files an unrelated lawsuit against the party he wants to award the contract. The defendant in the lawsuit could file a wrongful use of civil proceedings claim, arguing that the plaintiff’s case had been filed to coerce or intimidate them into compliance, or a neighbor interested in acquiring the property next door could file multiple small nuisance claims against the owner to pressure them into moving away.

Abuse of process is different from wrongful use of civil proceedings (sometimes referred to as “malicious prosecution”) in that the latter represents baseless or frivolous claims filed for an improper purpose and  the former is a perversion of some aspect of the court process  to achieve an ulterior end. To demonstrate that that’s what is happening, the defendant may have to present circumstantial evidence, as direct evidence is rarely available. The defendant must ask the court to use their common sense in interpreting the plaintiff’s motives from their pattern of conduct, and that in doing so they have exceeded permissible boundaries.

When a defendant is successful in showing the court that the filing they’ve been named in is a wrongful use of process or that some part of the litigation is an abuse of process, the court has a few remedies. They can award compensatory damages for any financial losses or emotional distress that the named defendant suffered. They can also award damages for reputational harm, and impose punitive damages if the circumstances represent egregious misconduct.

There is a line between aggressive litigation and actionable misconduct, and proving improper intentions requires clear evidence of ulterior motives to safeguard the court from being exploited. If you believe you’re the victim of abuse of process or wrongful use of civil process, our office can help. Contact us today to learn more about the steps we will take to restore parity to your situation.