California Court of Appeal

In this pro se civil lawsuit brought by appellant-prisoner against a prison warden and other correctional staff, dismissal of the action on grounds that appellant is a vexatious litigant is reversed, where: 1) the record reflects that in the five cases in which appellant applied to the court in forma pauperis (IFP), no complaint was ever filed, and therefore no action or proceeding was ever commenced; 2) the five IFP applications therefore do not qualify as litigations within the meaning of Code of Civil Procedure section 391(a), and the vexatious litigant motion fails as there are only four prior litigations left, falling short of the five adverse litigations required under section 391(b)(1); and 3) the trial court reversibly erred when it determined that appellant was a vexatious litigant and when it ordered further relief.

Appellate Information

• Decided 11/12/2014
• Published 11/12/2014

Judges

• Kane

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel