The Defendant, Sherwood Ford Sales Limited, brought an Application for an Order declaring the Plaintiff a vexatious litigant, striking the Action, striking two related Actions brought by the Plaintiff against the Defendant, and restricting the Plaintiff from further Court access.

The Court first engaged the retrospective inquiry as to whether the Plaintiff was a vexatious litigant. Various indicia of abusive litigation were reviewed, with multiple indicia identified as extant, leading the Court to conclude that the Plaintiff was a vexatious litigant. With abuse established, the Court then considered whether the Plaintiff’s several claims against the Defendant should be struck pursuant to Rule 3.68. Specific reference was made to Rule 3.68(2) subsections (c) and (d), concerned with the striking of a claim where a commencement document or pleading is “frivolous, irrelevant or improper” or “an abuse of process”, respectively. The Court held that regardless of any merit which may have been attributable to the Plaintiff’s actions, striking out those Actions was fair and just “since the manner in which he has conducted himself means striking out his litigation is a proportionate response to [his] court misconduct.”

The Court then engaged the prospective inquiry regarding further Court access. In the circumstances, the Court was inclined to impose broad restrictions on the Plaintiff. The resulting Order required that the Plaintiff seek leave for any further access before the Provincial Court of Alberta, the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta, and the Alberta Court of Appeal. It was acknowledged that such an Order was redundant with respect to the Court of Appeal, given Rule 14.5(1)(j) requiring that any litigant declared vexatious in the Court appealed from must obtain permission before filing an Appeal. However, in the interest of assisting the Plaintiff with making informed and focussed Applications for leave, the Court’s Order, inclusive of detailed instructions regarding the leave process, covered all Courts.