Abuse of process is when someone uses the legal process for an illegal purpose, such as harassment or intimidation. It differs from prosecution as there may be grounds for the case in court. Proving it can be difficult, and courts are often reluctant to prosecute it due to concerns about protecting the right of access to the legal system. If suspected, consult a lawyer for advice.
Abuse of process is a type of tort in which someone uses an aspect of the legal process for a purpose that is considered illegal, such as harassment, intimidation, or simple inconvenience. This tort differs from prosecution, where a lawsuit is filed with no legal basis, in that there may be grounds for the case in court, but the legal process is being abused to achieve a wrongful goal. For example, someone might sue for a debt, a completely legal business, but use the lawsuit to intimidate the debtor in court, which is not legal.
In abuse of process, a writ, summons, judgment, or deposition is used for an unlawful purpose. For example, someone might use a deposition to intimidate someone, or might serve someone documents with the goal of harassing that person. Another form of abuse of process could be a case where someone files a lawsuit with the specific goal of harassing and annoying someone into appearing in court.
The person involved in the abuse of process may have malicious intent and may be a lawyer or a citizen who uses a lawyer to achieve wrongful ends in the legal system. Sometimes there are instances where a situation looks like an abuse of process, but it really isn’t, due to incomplete information. If an attorney or party can be shown to have acted in good faith, it is not considered abuse of process.
If you suspect abuse of process, you should consult a lawyer for more information and advice on how to proceed. In cases where someone is the subject of a lawsuit, the attorney in charge of handling the lawsuit can determine whether or not an abuse of process is occurring. In other cases, a tort attorney can review the specifics of the case and provide advice.
Proving abuse of process can be difficult and courts are often reluctant to prosecute it. The main reason for this is the concern that it may cause a chilling effect. Most nations want to protect the right of access to the legal system and the courts, and there is concern that some cases of abuse of process are nebulous and difficult to pin down, and that the decision in favor of the person suing could result in the prohibition legitimate cases or future actions.
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