Vexatious Suit
Defined in 2 dictionaries — Cyclopedic (1922), Bouvier (1914)
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922
A suit which has been instituted maliciously, and without probable cause, whereby a damage has ensued to the defendant.
Bouvier's Law Dictionary and Concise Encyclopedia
John Bouvier; revised by Francis Rawle · 1914
A suit which has been instituted maliciously, and without probable cause, whereby a damage has ensued to the defendant. The suit is either a criminal prosecution, a conviction before a magistrate, or a civil action. The suit need not be altogether without foundation: if the part which is groundless has subjected the party to an inconvenience to which he would not have been exposed had the valid cause of complaint alone been insisted on, it is injurious; 4 Co. 14; Itay v. Law, 1 Pet. C. C. 210, Fed. Cas. No. 11,592; Sommer v. Wilt, 4S.& R. (Pa.) 19, 23. To make it vexatious the suit must have been instituted maliciously. See Malicious Prosecution; False Imprisonment.