Rhode Island General Laws 8-8.4-3. Hearing – Procedure
At the hearing, evidence of any of the following shall create a rebuttable presumption that litigation is being initiated, advanced, or continued primarily for the purpose of harassing, intimidating, threatening, or maintaining contact with the other party:
(1) The same or substantially similar issues between the same or substantially similar parties have been litigated within the past five (5) years in the same court or any other court of competent jurisdiction;
(2) The same or substantially similar issues between the same or substantially similar parties have been raised, pled, or alleged in the past five (5) years and were decided on the merits or dismissed:
(3) Within the last five (5) years, the party allegedly engaging in abusive litigation has been sanctioned by any court for filing one or more cases, petitions, motions, or other filings that were found to have been frivolous, vexatious, intransigent, or brought in bad faith involving the same opposing party;
(4) Any court has determined that the party allegedly engaging in abusive litigation has previously engaged in abusive litigation or similar conduct, including, but not limited to, the filing of a private misdemeanor prosecution complaint pursuant to § 12-4-1 or § 12-10-12, and has been subject to a court order imposing prefiling restrictions;
(5) Proffered legal claims are not based on existing law or by a reasonable argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law, or the establishment of new law;
(6) Allegations and other factual contentions made are without adequate evidentiary support or are unlikely to have evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation; or
(7) 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.
History of Section.
P.L. 2023, ch. 171, § 2, effective June 20, 2023; P.L. 2023, ch. 172, § 2, effective June 20, 2023.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 8-8.4-3
- Abusive litigation: means litigation where the following apply:
(i) The opposing parties have a current or former family or household member relationship or there has been a civil order or criminal conviction determining that one of the parties stalked or sexually assaulted the other party; and
(ii) The party who is filing, initiating, advancing, or continuing the litigation has been found by a court to have abused, stalked, or sexually assaulted the other party, pursuant to:
(A) A final protective order entered pursuant to Rhode Island General Laws 8-8.4-1
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
- Litigation: means any kind of legal action or proceeding, including, but not limited to:
(i) A filing of a summons, complaint, or petition;
(ii) Serving a summons, complaint, or petition, regardless of whether it has been filed;
(iii) Filing a motion, notice of court date, or order to appear;
(iv) Serving a motion, notice of court date, or order to appear, regardless of whether it has been filed or scheduled;
(v) Filing a subpoena, subpoena duces tecum, interrogatories, request for production of documents, notice of deposition, or other discovery request; or
(vi) Serving a subpoena, subpoena duces tecum, interrogatories, request for production of documents, notice of deposition, or other discovery request. See Rhode Island General Laws 8-8.4-1