Rhode Island Litigation Abuse
Litigation Abuse
Basic Information
What is the definition of abusive litigation in Rhode Island?
“Abusive litigation” means a legal action taken in court or related to a court case that is intended to abuse, harass, intimidate, threaten, or maintain contact with you.1 It is often carried out by an abusive partner who is trying to keep power and control over a victim who has left the relationship or is in the process of trying to leave. Abusive litigation can be any kind of legal action, including but not limited to:
- filing or serving a summons, complaint, or petition;
- filing or serving a motion, notice of court date, or order to appear; or
- filing or serving a subpoena, subpoena duces tecum, interrogatories, request for production of documents, notice of deposition, or another discovery request.2
If you are facing abusive litigation, you may be able to ask the court to restrict the ability of the abuser to continue to file new cases or motions.
1 RI Gen. Laws § 8-8.4-1(1)
2 RI Gen. Laws § 8-8.4-1(4)
What can a judge include in an order restricting abusive litigation?
A judge who finds that litigation is abusive may dismiss, deny, strike, or otherwise resolve any motions or other legal actions “with prejudice,” which means that they cannot be re-filed.1 In an order restricting abusive litigation, the judge may include any conditions that are necessary and appropriate, including:
- awarding you reasonable attorney’s fees and the costs of responding to the abusive litigation;
- awarding you all the costs of the abusive litigation, including but not limited to:
- court costs;
- lost wages;
- transportation costs; and
- childcare costs; and
- putting pre-filing restrictions on the abuser to prevent him/her from filing any future cases against you or your children without court permission.2
1 RI Gen. Laws § 8-8.4-4(a)
2 RI Gen. Laws § 8-8.4-4(b)
How do I prove the abuser is engaging in abusive litigation?
There are certain circumstances that will create what is called a “rebuttable presumption” that the court case against you is, in fact, abusive litigation. This means that if you can show one of the following situations has happened, the judge will assume the litigation is abusive and the abuser would then bear the burden of proving otherwise:
- The same or substantially similar issues have been litigated in any court between you and the abuser within the past five years;
- The same or substantially similar issues have been raised or pled in a court case in the past five years and the judge heard the evidence and made a decision (decided on the merits) or it was dismissed;
- The abuser has been punished (sanctioned) by any court in the past five years for filing one or more cases against you that were found to be without a legal basis (frivolous), harassing (vexatious), “intransigent,” or in bad faith;
- The abuser has been found by any court to have engaged in abusive litigation or similar acts and that court placed pre-filing restrictions on him/her;
- The abuser’s legal claims against you are not based on:
- any existing law;
- a reasonable argument that the current law should be changed; or
- a reasonable argument for passing a new law;
- The abuser’s factual allegations against you are not based on adequate evidence or there is unlikely to be adequate evidence after further investigation; or
- One or more of the issues that the abuser is using as the basis of the current case against you has already been filed in another court, and the abuser lost in that other court after the issues were litigated.1
1 RI Gen. Laws § 8-8.4-3
Getting the order
Am I eligible to request an order restricting abusive litigation?
For you to be able to request an order, one of the following must be true:
- the person engaging in abusive litigation is your current or former family or household member, which is defined as:
- your current or former intimate partner;
- your current or former spouse;
- related to you by blood or marriage;
- someone who is living with you or has lived with you in the past three years;
- someone you have a child with; or
- someone you are currently dating or have dated or been engaged to within the past year; or
- there a civil order or criminal conviction finding that the person engaging in abusive litigation stalked or sexually assaulted you.1
In both of the above situations, you will also need to show that a judge has determined that this person committed abuse, stalking, or sexual assault against you in any of the following documents:
- a final domestic violence restraining order;
- a final protective order issued under section 15-5-19 of the law;
- a no-contact order;
- a final sexual assault protective;
- a final abuse prevention order issued by the court of any other state, including U.S. territories and any federally recognized Indian tribe, that has similar provisions to Rhode Island’s abuse prevention orders;
- a final order for alimony or custody of children;
- a criminal conviction, plea of “nolo contendere,” or a filed criminal charge in any state for one of the criminal offenses listed in section 12-29-2 of the law;
- a pending criminal charge for domestic violence in any state, if the court has imposed conditions on the abuser’s release to protect the safety of the victim; or
- a signed affidavit from a domestic violence or sexual assault advocate or counselor working on behalf of an agency that helps victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.2
1 RI Gen. Laws §§ 8-8.4-2(a); 8-8.4-1(2)
2 RI Gen. Laws § 8-8.4-1(1)(ii)
How can I request an order restricting abusive litigation?
You may request an order restricting abusive litigation in any of the following ways:
- in any answer or response to the abuser’s litigation being filed, started, or continued;
- by a motion made at any time in an ongoing court case;
- in an answer or response to any motion or request for an order;
- orally in any court hearing; or
- by filing a petition.1
If the abusive litigation is happening in District or Family Court, you can make your request for the order directly to the court where the litigation is happening. If nothing has been filed by the abuser yet, for example if the abuser is serving you un-filed papers directly in order to harass you, then the request for an order restricting abusive litigation must be made in Superior Court.2
1 RI Gen. Laws § 8-8.4-2(b)
2 RI Gen. Laws § 8-8.4-2(c), (d), (e)
Is there a fee to request an order restricting abusive litigation?
There is no filing fee to request an order restricting abusive litigation.1
1 RI Gen. Laws § 8-8.4-2(h)
Are there forms available to help me request an order restricting abusive litigation?
The Rhode Island courts provide these model forms so that you can more easily request that the abusive litigation be stopped even if you do not have a lawyer:
- Superior Court Motion for Abusive Litigation;
- Superior Court Petition for Abusive Litigation;
- Family Court Motion for Abusive Litigation; and
- District Court Motion for Abusive Litigation.
You can find more court forms on the Rhode Island Judiciary website. For more information about where you should file your request, see When and where can I request an order restricting abusive litigation?
After the hearing
If I was granted an order restricting abusive litigation, what happens if the abuser files new court papers?
If you have received an order restricting abusive litigation, the abuser is required to ask the court for permission before filing a new case or serving papers in an existing case against you. Then, the court will notify you that a hearing is being scheduled to decide on the request. You have the right to appear at that hearing if you wish to participate, and if you choose not to appear in person, the judge will expect you to file a written response.1
If the judge believes that the abuser’s proposed legal filing would be abusive, the judge will deny or dismiss it.2 If the judge believes that the new action is not abusive, the judge will issue an order allowing it. This court order must be included when the abuser’s legal papers are served on you.3
If you receive papers from the abuser that do not include a court order allowing the papers to be filed or served, then all you need to do in response is to file a copy of the order restricting abusive litigation. You do not have to respond in any other way. If the legal papers ask you to appear for depositions, you do not have to attend.4 The judge will dismiss or deny the abuser’s case and may take any other actions that are necessary and appropriate to deal with the violation of the order restricting litigation.5
1 RI Gen. Laws § 8-8.4-5(a), (b)
2 RI Gen. Laws § 8-8.4-5(c)
3 RI Gen. Laws § 8-8.4-5(d)
4 RI Gen. Laws § 8-8.4-5(g)
5 RI Gen. Laws § 8-8.4-5(h)
My request for an order restricting abusive litigation was denied. What will happen next?
If after you present all of your evidence, the judge decides that the litigation against you is not abusive, the judge is required to issue a written order explaining why. The case that the abuser has brought against you will then proceed normally and you will be expected to participate in it.1
You can read more about appealing an order if you believe the judge made an error, and you can look for a lawyer if you need advice on your options at this stage. If you are hoping to prevent the abuser from contacting you outside of court, you may also want to read about domestic violence restraining orders and sexual assault protective orders to see if you qualify for either.
1 RI Gen. Laws § 8-8.4-4(c)