Are Frivolous Lawsuits Legal
What is a frivolous lawsuit?
A frivolous lawsuit or a frivolous litigation can be broadly described as a legal claim or a defense that is not justifiable by any means, but is filed before the court of law.
According to the United States Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, it is mandatory that the attorney makes a detailed investigation regarding the facts described in the claim or defense before filing. However, in case of frivolous lawsuits do not involve any merit as both the plaintiff and the lawyer are completely aware that the case does not involve any factual basis that need investigated. Apart from wasting resources and legal fees, frivolous lawsuits also cause waste of court’s valuable time. Hence, many times sanctions are imposed on the party, lawyer as well as the law firm filing such a lawsuit.
Why do people file frivolous lawsuits?
The main reason is that litigants do not understand the details of legal procedures.
How does the law treat such frivolous lawsuits?
Frivolous lawsuits are a matter of civil law. According to the laws of the current judiciary system, any person can file a lawsuit making claims against the defendant. However, it is up to the jurisdiction of the court to consider the lawsuit as frivolous. However, any frivolous lawsuit cannot be ruled as illegal. Instead, the defendant can opt for filing a summary judgment motion. According to this motion, if the judge agrees that the defendant has not done anything wrong even though all the facts claimed in the lawsuit are supported, the lawsuit is dismissed. Upon successfully defending the lawsuit, the defendant has the option of filing a malicious prosecution lawsuit against the plaintiff that could help him in recovering the attorney fees apart from other damages.
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