Revision: Dec. 16, 2011, midnight
SB 273 – AS INTRODUCED
2012 SESSION
09/04
SENATE BILL 273
AN ACT relative to vexatious litigants.
This bill establishes certain requirements for persons who are determined by the court to be vexatious litigants.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12-2913
09/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve
AN ACT relative to vexatious litigants.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Frivolous Lawsuits; Vexatious Litigants. Amend RSA 507 by inserting after section 15 the following new section:
507:15-a Vexatious Litigants.
I. In this section, “vexatious litigant” means an individual who has been found by a judge to have filed 2 or more frivolous lawsuits which have had a final disposition and which the judge finds, by clear and convincing evidence, were initiated for the primary purpose of harassment.
II. The court may require a vexatious litigant to:
(a) Retain an attorney or other person of good character to represent him or her in all actions.
(b) Post a cash or surety bond sufficient to cover all attorney fees and anticipated damages.
III. Upon petition, the supreme court shall, upon clear and convincing evidence, determine that a person who has been determined by a lower court to be a vexatious litigant is no longer a vexatious litigant.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2013.