SB 226: "An Act relating to litigation brought by a vexatious litigant; amending Rules 3, 4, 12, and 41, Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure; and providing for an effective date."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 226 01 "An Act relating to litigation brought by a vexatious litigant; amending Rules 3, 4, 12, 02 and 41, Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure; and providing for an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 09.55 is amended by adding a new section to read: 05 Article 10. Procedures Relating to Civil Actions Filed by a Vexatious Litigant. 06 Sec. 09.55.700. Management of litigation brought by a vexatious litigant. 07 (a) In addition to other actions authorized by law or court rule, the court may take 08 actions in this section to manage litigation brought by a vexatious litigant. 09 (b) The court may order the plaintiff to provide security if the court 10 determines that the plaintiff is a vexatious litigant and that it is not reasonably 11 probable that the plaintiff will prevail in the litigation against the defendant. The court 12 shall decide the amount of security required. 13 (c) If the court orders a vexatious litigant to provide security under (b) of this 14 section, the court shall prohibit the commencement of a civil action by a vexatious
01 litigant, or, if a litigation has been commenced, shall stay the litigation until the 02 security is provided. If the litigation is stayed on or before the date a party is required 03 to file a responsive pleading, the party need not file the responsive pleading until 10 04 days after the motion requesting that the plaintiff provide security is denied or, if the 05 motion is granted, until 10 days after the court gives the parties written notice that the 06 plaintiff has complied with the court order or at another time ordered by the court. 07 (d) In addition to any other relief provided in this section, the court may, on its 08 own motion or on the motion of a party, enter a prefiling order that prohibits a 09 vexatious litigant from commencing litigation without first obtaining leave of the 10 presiding judge of the judicial district in which the litigation is proposed to be 11 commenced. A vexatious litigant who fails to comply with a prefiling order may be 12 subject to contempt proceedings. 13 (e) The presiding judge shall permit a vexatious litigant who is subject to a 14 prefiling order to commence litigation only if the presiding judge of the district where 15 the litigation is proposed to be filed decides that the litigation has merit and is not 16 proposed for the purpose of harassment or delay. The presiding judge may condition 17 the commencement of litigation by a vexatious litigant on the furnishing of security. 18 (f) The clerk of the court may not accept a complaint for filing by a vexatious 19 litigant who is subject to a prefiling order unless the vexatious litigant first obtains an 20 order from the presiding judge permitting the filing. If the clerk mistakenly files the 21 litigation without an order from the presiding judge, any party may file with the clerk 22 and serve on the parties a notice stating that the plaintiff is a vexatious litigant subject 23 to a prefiling order under (d) of this section. The filing of the notice stays the 24 litigation, the complaint is considered invalid, and the clerk of court shall dismiss the 25 action unless the plaintiff, within 10 days after the filing of the notice, obtains an order 26 from the presiding judge permitting the filing of the litigation as provided in (e) of this 27 section. If the presiding judge issues an order permitting the filing, a party need not 28 file an answer or other responsive pleading until 10 days after the party is served with 29 a copy of the order or at another time ordered by the court. 30 (g) The Alaska Court System shall establish a system to maintain a record of 31 vexatious litigants subject to a prefiling order and shall make the record of vexatious
01 litigants available to the clerks of the courts of the state. 02 (h) This section does not apply to proceedings or litigation under AS 12.72, 03 AS 12.75, AS 18.65, AS 18.66, AS 25.24, AS 47.10, or AS 47.17. 04 (i) In this section, 05 (1) "litigation" means a civil action or proceeding for legal or equitable 06 relief commenced, maintained, or pending, but does not include an appeal or petition 07 filed under the Alaska Rules of Appellate Procedure; 08 (2) "security" means an undertaking to ensure payment of a prevailing 09 party's reasonable expenses, including attorney fees and taxable costs, incurred in 10 connection with litigation instituted, commenced, or maintained, or caused to be 11 commenced or maintained by a vexatious litigant; 12 (3) "vexatious litigant" means a person acting without the assistance of 13 an attorney, who 14 (A) commenced, prosecuted, or maintained as the plaintiff at 15 least five litigations in state or federal court, other than small claims actions, 16 during the preceding seven years, that were 17 (i) finally decided adversely to the person; or 18 (ii) remained pending, without good cause, for more 19 than one year without any proceedings having been taken, or remained 20 pending for more than one year without a trial or mandatory pretrial 21 scheduling conference having been held; 22 (B) repeatedly litigated or attempted to litigate, in state or 23 federal court, against parties to a previous litigation 24 (i) the validity of a previous adverse decision; or 25 (ii) a previously decided issue of fact or law; 26 (C) repeatedly filed motions, pleadings, or other papers that the 27 court determined were frivolous or in bad faith, repeatedly conducted 28 unnecessary or frivolous discovery, or repeatedly engaged in other tactics that 29 were frivolous or solely intended to cause unnecessary delay; or 30 (D) was previously declared to be a vexatious litigant by the 31 court under (b) of this section or by a federal court of record.
01 * Sec. 2. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 02 read: 03 INDIRECT COURT RULE AMENDMENT. AS 09.55.700, enacted by sec. 1 of this 04 Act, has the effect of changing the following Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure in the manner 05 specified: 06 (1) Rule 3, Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, by prohibiting, under certain 07 circumstances, the commencement of an action by a vexatious litigant who is subject to a 08 prefiling order or who fails to provide court ordered security; 09 (2) Rule 4, Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, by prohibiting the issuance of a 10 summons upon the filing of a complaint if the complaint is filed by a vexatious litigant or if a 11 complaint has been mistakenly filed and is considered invalid; 12 (3) Rule 12, Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, by establishing that a party to an 13 action mistakenly accepted for filing by the clerk of court need not file an answer or other 14 responsive pleading under certain circumstances; 15 (4) Rule 41, Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, by permitting the clerk of court 16 to dismiss a mistakenly filed case. 17 * Sec. 3. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 18 read: 19 APPLICABILITY. This Act applies to litigation filed on or after the effective date of 20 this Act. However, the court may consider conduct occurring before, on, or after the effective 21 date of this Act in making its determination as to whether a person is a vexatious litigant 22 under AS 09.55.700, as enacted by sec. 1 of this Act. 23 * Sec. 4. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 24 read: 25 CONDITIONAL EFFECT OF ACT. This Act takes effect only if sec. 2 of this Act 26 receives the two-thirds majority vote of each house required by art. IV, sec. 15, Constitution 27 of the State of Alaska. 28 * Sec. 5. If this Act takes effect under sec. 4 of this Act, it takes effect immediately under 29 AS 01.10.070(c).