Frivolous Litigation Law and Legal Definition
Frivolous litigation is when parties to a case or their lawyers start or carry on law suits that have no chance of winning. In the U.S., frivolous litigation consists of a legal claim or defense presented before a court even though the party or the party's legal counsel had reason to know that the claim or defense has no merit. Some cases can be initiated with the sole intention of harassing the defendant in a case. Such cases also delay the procedures of the courts.
In the U.S., the lawyers are required to perform due diligent investigation before instituting a case in courts. States differ in providing sanctions for instituting frivolous cases. The lawyer can be even held in contempt of court. However, some states do not impose sanctions if a lawyer can prove that s/he acted in good faith after reasonable investigation into the merits of the case.
