North Dakota Code 14-07.6-01 – Definitions
1. “Abusive litigation” means litigation in which:
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 14-07.6-01
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute means the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Individual: means a human being. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
- Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
a. The parties have or had an intimate partner relationship or any other person with a sufficient relationship to the abusing person as determined by the court under section 14-07.1-02; b. The filing party has been found by a court to have committed an act of domestic violence or disorderly conduct against the opposing party pursuant to a court order entered under chapter 14-07.1, 14-09, or 12.1-32.2, or an equivalent ordinance from another state, provided the issuing court made a specific finding of domestic violence or disorderly conduct, or the filing party has a prior conviction relating to domestic violence against the opposing party under chapter 12.1-17; c. There is intent on the part of the filing party to harass, intimidate, maintain contact with, or retaliate against the opposing party; and
d. At least one of the following is true:
(1) Claims, allegations, and other legal contentions made in the litigation are not warranted by existing law or by a reasonable argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law, or the establishment of new law; (2) Allegations and other factual contentions made in the litigation lack evidentiary support; (3) The actions comprising the basis of the litigation previously have been filed or litigated in one or more other courts or jurisdictions and have been disposed of unfavorably against the party filing, initiating, advancing, or continuing the litigation; or
(4) The filing party has been sanctioned previously for filing, initiating, advancing, or continuing litigation found to be frivolous, vexatious, intransigent, or brought in bad faith.
2. “Filing party” means the party who has filed, initiated, advanced, or continued litigation.
3. “Intimate partner” means a spouse, former spouse, an individual who has a child with a filing party regardless of whether the individual has been married to the filing party or lived with the filing party, or an individual who has or had a dating relationship with the filing party.
4. “Litigation” means any motion, pleading, petition, or other court filing.
5. “Opposing party” means the party against whom the filing party has filed, initiated, advanced, or continued litigation.