In Katelnikoff v Day, 2026 ABKB 527, the Alberta Court of King’s Bench provides guidance on when litigation ceases to be a legitimate pursuit of a legal remedy and instead becomes an abuse of the Court’s process. The Honourable Chief Justice D.B Nixon reaffirmed that CPN7 is an exceptional case management tool reserved for proceedings that are, on their face, frivolous, vexatious, or otherwise an abuse of process.
Importantly, the Court made clear that abuse of process is rarely the result of a single procedural failing. Instead, it requires an assessment of the litigation as a whole. In this case, the Court considered the cumulative effect of inadequate pleadings, repeated unsuccessful applications, significant delay, failures to comply with procedural obligations, and the disproportionate consumption of judicial resources before concluding that the proceeding was appropriate for striking under Rule 3.68(2)(d) through the Apparent Vexatious Application or Proceeding (AVAP) process under CPN7.