[§634L-3] Abusive litigation; defined.

632 words·~3 min read·/hi/634l-3

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

(a)Abusive litigation occurs where the following apply:

(1)The opposing parties have a current or former intimate partner relationship or have filed on behalf of a minor or incapacitated person who has a current or former intimate partner relationship;

(2)The party who is filing, initiating, advancing, or continuing the litigation has been found by a court to have committed intimate partner violence against the other party, including by a temporary restraining order or order for protection that the court found was necessary due to domestic violence or the parties had agreed to an order for protection in a case of domestic violence and to the facts of that order, pursuant to:

(A)An order or decree issued pursuant to section 571-46 or 580-74;

(B)An order for protection issued pursuant to section 586-3;

(C)A temporary restraining order issued pursuant to section 586-4;

(D)A protective order issued pursuant to section 586-5.5;

(E)A foreign protective order credited pursuant to section 586-21;

(F)A no contact order issued pursuant to section 709-906(4); or

(G)A criminal conviction or a plea of no contest, in this State or any other jurisdiction for any of the crimes identified in section 709-906, 711-1106.4, or 711-1106.5; or a filing for any offense related to domestic violence;

(3)The litigation is being filed, initiated, advanced, or continued primarily for the purpose of harassing, intimidating, or maintaining contact with the other party; and

(4)At least one of the following factors apply:

(A)Claims, allegations, and other legal contentions made in the litigation are not warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law or the establishment of new law;

(B)Allegations and other factual contentions made in the litigation are without the existence of evidentiary support; or

(C)An issue or issues that are the basis of the litigation have previously been filed in one or more other courts or jurisdictions and the actions have been litigated and disposed of unfavorably to the party filing, initiating, advancing, or continuing the litigation.

(b)Litigation is harassing, intimidating, or maintaining contact with the other party when the litigation is filed with the intent or is primarily designed to, among other actions:

(1)Exhaust, deplete, impair, or adversely impact the other party's financial resources;

(2)Prevent or interfere with the ability of the other party to raise a child or children for whom the other party has sole or joint legal custody;

(3)Force, coerce, or attempt to force or coerce the other party to agree to or make adverse concessions concerning financial, custodial, support, or other issues when the issues in question have been previously litigated and decided in favor of the other party;

(4)Force, coerce, or attempt to force or coerce the other party to alter, engage in, or refrain from engaging in conduct when the conduct is lawful;

(5)Impair, or attempt to impair, the health or well-being of the other party or the other party's dependent;

(6)Prevent, interfere, or adversely impact the ability of the other party to pursue or maintain a livelihood or lifestyle at the same or better standard as the other party enjoyed before the filing of the action;

(7)Force, coerce, or attempt to force or coerce the other party to maintain contact with the party who is filing, initiating, advancing, or continuing the litigation; or

(8)Impair, diminish, or tarnish the other party's reputation in the community or alienate the other party's friends, colleagues, attorneys, or professional associates by, including but not limited to subjecting parties without knowledge of or not reasonably relevant to the litigation to unreasonably or unnecessarily complex, lengthy, or intrusive interrogatories or depositions. [L 2024, c 252, pt of §2]