Australia

Mr Clemens (formerly, Mr Lindsay) was declared a vexatious litigant in July 1998. He was therefore prohibited from commencing proceedings in any Victorian Court or Tribunal without leave. Mr Clemens, who represented himself, had brought several claims in different jurisdictions against a number of different defendants, all unsuccessful (see e.g: Lindsey v Philip Morris Limited [2004] FCAFC 40). He sought leave in this case to pursue a negligence claim against the Government of Victoria. He alleged that the Government of Victoria owed him a duty of care to enact legislation which would prevent foreseeable injury to the community as a result of cigarette smoking.

Mr Clemens had previously made a similar claim against the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, which was rejected by Hansen J. In this case, Robson J found that the statement of claim was substantially similar. Robson J was not satisfied that the proposed proceeding would not be an abuse of process and therefore refused Mr Clemens's application.