Vexatious litigation is a legal proceeding that starts with malice and without good cause. Vexatious litigation is meant to bother, embarrass, or cause legal expenses to the defendant. A plaintiff who starts such litigation either knows or should reasonably know that no legal basis for the lawsuit exists. To obtain a remedy for vexatious litigation, the injured party often files a claim for malicious prosecution.
SLAPP suits are a type of vexatious litigation. A well-known example of a SLAPP suit is when Oprah Winfrey was sued by cattle farmers for libel against burgers after saying she wouldn't eat another hamburger on a television segment on mad cow disease: see Texas Beef Group v. Winfrey, 11 F. Supp. 2d 858 (N.D. Tex. 1998)
[Last updated in July of 2024 by the Wex Definitions Team]