Court labels divorced man vexatious litigant after endless legal battles

A divorced man has been declared a vexatious litigant due to his relentless pursuit of grievances stemming from an unfavourable divorce settlement. 

The man had taken his cases through multiple layers of the judicial system, culminating in appeals to the Constitutional Court, only to find himself repeatedly unsuccessful.

The man’s ex-wife sought the relief of the court to have him declared a vexatious litigant due to ongoing legal proceedings instituted by the man, who has attempted to avoid fulfilling the obligations imposed on him by the divorce order in August 2020. 

Western Cape High Court Judge Lister Nuku said that since the granting of the divorce order, the woman has had to contend with at least 10 unsuccessful applications brought by her ex-husband, who is yet to pay any of the costs he was ordered to pay in some of the legal proceedings.

In his submissions made to the court, the man had described the sale of an immovable property, which was sold under the Rule 46A order, “as an irrevocable loss of R5 million”. 

He alleged the loss to have been an unjust judgment and premature execution. 

“He views the sale of the property as a strategy to financially weaken him and strip him of the leverage from ongoing legal efforts,” the court documents read.

In his slew of allegations, he has not spared the professionals involved in the ongoing litigation, where he has lodged complaints against the applicant’s legal representatives, his own legal representatives, and his forensic expert. 

Judge Nuku said members of the Western Cape High Court also have not been spared, as the presiding judge who granted the divorce order has faced a complaint to the Judicial Services Commission.

Earlier this year, in May, some of the litigation threats targeted the woman’s legal representatives. The attorneys were threatened with a R210 million lawsuit, and counsel was threatened with a R190 million lawsuit. 

The woman’s former legal representatives also did not escape his threats.

He further claimed, without any supporting evidence, that the legal process in these proceedings had been “noticeably unfair compared to other litigants in similar circumstances”, the judgment detailed.

Nuku said: “The (man) cannot be faulted for pursuing applications for leave to appeal up to the Constitutional Court. However, once the Constitutional Court had pronounced on the matter, any application that (he) lodged thereafter could not have been made with an honest belief that it would achieve anything.

“And as the respondent himself says, all these applications concern ‘a targeted and narrowly confined effort to undo an unlawful divorce outcome that resulted in the fraudulent loss of trust assets, personal property, and dignity.’

“Despite the unsuccessful application for leave to appeal to the Constitutional Court, (the man) is clear that he will not stop until he gets what he thinks he deserves. That he has persistently instituted legal proceedings is self-evident,” said Judge Nuku.

chevon.booysen@inl.co.za