Nova Scotia judge shuts down lawsuit by conspiracy theorist

For the third time in as many weeks, a Nova Scotia judge has moved to end a long, protracted series of legal actions.

In a judgment released Tuesday, Justice Nick Scaravelli of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court ended a lawsuit filed against the provincial attorney general and several lawyers.

The lawsuit was filed by Thomas Percy Tupper and stems from a traffic accident in Kentville in 1983. Tupper was riding a motorcycle when he struck and injured a pedestrian.

Tupper was uninsured and riding without a headlight at 1:30 in the morning of June 4, 1983. The pedestrian was drunk and therefore unable to avoid the collision.

A judge decided Tupper was 75 per cent responsible for the collision and awarded the pedestrian more than $28,000. 

However, according to previous court decisions in this case, Tupper became convinced he was the victim of a conspiracy, which eventually grew to include several lawyers and his girlfriend.

In his statement of claim in this latest lawsuit, Tupper wrote:

"This is a lawsuit on how Larry Hake [the pedestrian] and four lawyers conspired to commit insurance fraud, extortion, etc., and had me pay back their stolen money to the insurance company they robbed and when I couldn't pay, my driver's licence was suspended ..."

Justice Scaravelli described Tupper as a "vexatious litigant."

"He has made scurrilous and unsubstantiated accusations against all defendants charging malice, bad faith, gross negligence, extortion and intimidation," he said.

Justice Scaravelli not only dismissed Tupper's latest lawsuit, he ordered the man not to commence any further proceedings without first getting permission from the court. Tupper was also ordered to pay each of the defendants $750.

Just last week, Justice Ted Scanlan of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal dismissed a long-running lawsuit by another frequent litigant, Wanda Cummings.  

In his decision, Justice Scanlan noted "there has been a plague of cases in this court and lower courts wherein litigants appear to engage the judicial  assets of this province for a purpose other than to resolve legitimate legal disputes."

The week before that, the Court of Appeal ruled against a third person who is a very frequent litigant.  

Guo Yi Liu has been waging a protracted legal battle against his former employer, Composites Atlantic Limited.

The court accepted a request from the company to end Liu's latest litigation.