We often hear the phrase “frivolous lawsuit” used to explain some legal claims. This blog will dive into exactly what frivolous means and what kind of claims courts consider to be of a frivolous nature.
What is frivolous?
Black’s Law Dictionary defines the word frivolous as an adjective, meaning “Lacking a legal basis or legal merit; not serious; not reasonably purposeful.” It also has a separate definition for “frivolous lawsuit” and defines it as “a lawsuit having no legal basis, often filed to harass or extort money from defendant.”
Here is an example of a lawsuit that could be found to be frivolous: ACME Lawn Care is a large company who services residential and commercial lawns. ACME has contracts to service lawns in several homes in the Spring Meadows sub-division. One house at 123 Oak Street, however, is vacant because the owners only visit in the wintertime. During the summer months, while the Griffin family are up north, ACME begins servicing the home’s lawn with expensive pesticides and fertilizer. There is no contract and the owners of the home have no idea of the service until they arrive at the home in November. Upon their arrival, they see several months’ worth of bills on their door from ACME. The Griffins quickly inform ACME to cease its services and complains to ACME that there was never an agreement to service the lawn. When no payment is made for the services, ACME files a lawsuit against the Griffins for Breach of Contract for non-payment. The complaint claims that the Griffins owe a total of $850 for services and late fees and serves Mr. Griffin with a summons.
Why would someone file a frivolous lawsuit?
There are several reasons why one may file a suit that has no legal basis or merit. Often, it is to simply harass or extort money from whoever is listed as the defendant. When someone is served with a lawsuit, that person or company/organization must respond to the complaint, which often requires hiring legal counsel. If the defendant simply ignores the complaint, the plaintiff (person suing) can ask the Court for a default judgment, which would award the plaintiff a judgment with whatever the Plaintiff asked for in their initial complaint. Defending oneself against such an action can be a time consuming and an expensive endeavor for an individual or business. This is especially true if the respondent has limited financial resources.
Why should someone hire an attorney to defend a frivolous lawsuit if it has no legal merit?
For a court to determine a case to be frivolous, the defendant must answer the complaint properly in a timely fashion and eventually file a Motion to Dismiss. This all can be done by someone without an attorney; however, these tasks can prove to be daunting for someone not trained in legal procedure. If an answer is filed incorrectly, the Plaintiff can move to have it deemed insufficient and possibly nullified by the Judge. Filings must be submitted in a specific manner depending on the court in which the case is being litigated. If the defendant can file an adequate Motion to Dismiss, the defendant will have to go to court before a judge and argue the merits of that motion. This requires knowing the law, applying that law to a set of facts, and articulating that argument effectively to a sitting judge.
Are there consequences to filing a frivolous lawsuit?
If the Court deems a lawsuit to be frivolous, that court can act against the Plaintiff. The most common penalty issued by judges in these suits are attorney’s fees and costs. This means the Judge orders that the Plaintiff pay fees and costs to the opposing party for frivolous or unnecessary litigation. If the Plaintiff has an attorney, that means they would have to pay their own attorney and the attorney fees for the Defendant.
The Florida Bar also has rules regulating attorneys practicing in Florida, which govern professional conduct and frivolous claims. Florida attorneys are subject to discipline if the Bar finds that an attorney is guilty of filing frivolous lawsuits.
If you have been served with a complaint in a lawsuit that you believe to be frivolous, call the attorneys at Hendry & Parker, P.A. for a free case consultation. We can work with you to get the case dismissed and fight for attorneys’ fee to help cover your costs.