Courtroom Horror Story - Vexatious Litigant
What is a vexatious litigant?
A vexatious litigant is one who takes legal action solely to harass an adversary. It could be someone who files frivolous lawsuits, or it may be someone who files repetitive, unwarranted motions during a trial.
Let me tell you about a vexatious litigant.
Vexatious Litigant Horror Story
It was around 2013, and I was working one of my final trials at a foreclosure firm in Florida. As I was walking into the courthouse, I saw a man pushing an empty wheelchair in from the parking lot. He was familiar to me; I had seen this man at every foreclosure firm I had worked at, all 4 of them.
This gentleman was Scottish, around 80 years old. The first time I met him, he was avoiding legal trouble back in Scotland. He had a lovely accent. He also owned multiple million dollar properties, one of which was on the chopping block in court that day.
Truly Vexing Litigation
So the trial began, and the gentleman was wheeled in on the wheelchair by his assistant, Jeffrey. They were going in pro se, or without an attorney, of course. The night before, he had apparently filed a motion to dismiss or disqualify the judge. The judge sits down and the gentleman asks, “Your honor, I don’t know if you’ve had a chance to review my motion.”
“Yes.” The judge replied.
“And is there a judgement?” the scottish accent inquired.
“Motion denied.”
The gentleman’s next tactic was to pretend to cough up blood, which didn’t seem very effective. He requested a continuance due to this “blood,” but the judge instead granted a 15 minute recess. After the judge and bailiff exited the courtroom, the gentleman hopped up out of his wheelchair, walked over to the judge’s desk and began rifling through the paperwork there. I exchanged bewildered looks with my client, and we wondered if we should raise a stink about this or just let it go (to get the trial over sooner). We chose the latter. It didn’t work.
Bogus Evidence, Leopard Print Glasses, and the Last Laugh
After the recess, the gentleman began presenting blog posts and other information from the internet with no credible sources. For HOURS. Eventually, the judge asked him if he actually had any real evidence to present. During cross-examination, my client was so mad that he loudly asked the gentleman, “Excuse me, sir, are you wearing leopard print glasses!?” I will never forget it.
After an eight and a half hour trial, we eventually won. We recovered the 3 million dollar property from the Scottish vexatious litigant with the leopard print glasses. The gentleman then left for Scotland right before a Florida storm, and left all the doors and windows to his former property wide open. So perhaps he won in the end after all?
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