Her Majesty's Attorney General v Michael Marshall Hellyer

The Court refused permission to appeal against a Divisional Court order declaring the applicant a vexatious litigant. Permission was refused because the original grounds had no real prospect of success. An out‑of‑time attempt to amend the notice to reopen merits was refused as inappropriate. The Court treated conduct in the application as confirming the necessity of the vexatious litigant order.

The applicant sought permission to appeal a Divisional Court civil proceedings order of 7 March 2001 which declared him a vexatious litigant. The application for permission to appeal was filed on 20 March 2001. At the hearing the applicant sought to amend his appellant's notice to advance different grounds. The Court considered the original grounds had no prospect and that the proposed amendment was out of time and would merely reopen issues already determined. The central question was whether permission to appeal should be granted.

1. Outcome: Permission to appeal was refused.
2. The Court reviewed the applicant's original grounds and concluded none had any real prospect of success. The judge described them as without merit.
3. The applicant sought to amend his appellant's notice at the hearing to raise wholly new grounds. The proposed amendments were out of time.
4. The Court refused leave to amend because the new matters would simply reopen issues already resolved by the proceedings that produced the civil proceedings order. They offered no prospect of success on appeal.
5. The applicant's conduct in seeking to substitute new grounds was consistent with the behaviour that justified the Divisional Court's declaration that he was a vexatious litigant. That fact reinforced the conclusion that permission should not be granted.
6. The application for permission to appeal was therefore refused. (Per Kay LJ.)

• Court of Appeal (Civil Division): Application for permission to appeal heard before Kay LJ on 19 June 2001; permission refused.
• Divisional Court, Queen's Bench Division: Civil proceedings order of 7 March 2001 declaring the applicant a vexatious litigant (source judgment to this application).