Vernon dentist Dr. Andrew Hokhold

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Hockhold Inc.

An Armstrong dentist who has used a "scorched earth" approach to litigation during a decade-long custody battle will no longer be able to file any more legal suits until he has paid all his outstanding child support arrears and legal fees.

The three-judge panel at the B.C. Court of Appeal made the ruling May 2 and gave court registry staff permission to discard any documents he submitted if his bills aren't paid.

The ruling comes five years after Andrew Nicholas Hokhold was labelled a "vexatious litigant" and barred from taking further legal action against his former spouse without permission.

However, according to the May 2 B.C. Court of Appeal decision, Hokhold's former partner said the vexatious litigant order had a "loophole."

"In reality, she continues to face baseless allegations of abuse," the decision reads.

Hokhold's former spouse says his non-compliance with court rules and orders is done to "maximize the unfairness" and pressure she experiences.

"She says she experiences threats of violence and has seen a similar escalation in the orders sought against her," the decision reads.

The decision doesn't specify how much Hokhold owes in unpaid child support but says he is in "significant arrears." In 2017 he was $450,000 behind.

A judge previously said he had structured his finances to avoid making support payments.

"(Hokhold) is wealthy and has the capacity to pay all his arrears and court costs—but he chooses not to," his former partner says in the decision.

The case dates back more than a decade and a B.C. judge called the high-conflict family litigation "unprecedented."

The catalyst for the lengthy court battle appears to be a 2014 court ruling whereby Hokhold's former spouse was allowed to relocate their children to Saskatchewan.

He was later ordered to pay child and spousal support of $16,900 a month, although that amount was later dropped to $4,224 a month.

Hokhold has since proceeded with dozens of court applications and filed thousands of pages of "largely incomprehensible" material.

A judge described him as having a "scorched earth" approach to the litigation.

In 2018, he was jailed for 10 days for disobeying a court order. In another instance he'd so unnerved a judge, another judge had reported it to the RCMP.

Last fall he asked the court to remove his children from his ex-partner and to then embark on a 10-week trial.

The dentist also asked for the "immediate arrest" of his ex-partner.

In his latest court action, Hokhold filed applications to review three previous court orders.

He failed in each attempt to have the order removed and the Appeal Justices then tightened up his restrictions.

"(Hokhold) has filed numerous meritless applications in both this Court and the court below, both before and after being declared a vexatious litigant," the decision reads. "He has brought applications in the Federal Court of Canada and sought leave to appeal this Court’s decision to the Supreme Court of Canada. In this Court alone, since being declared a vexatious litigant, he has filed over a half dozen notices of motion."

The Appeal Court goes on to say that the dentist has wasted judicial resources and abused court processes despite multiple warnings.

"He has done so against his former spouse and their children," the court ruled. "In our view, (Hokhold) should not be permitted to hide behind his children while he brings frivolous and abusive claims."

The court found Hokhold's behaviour amounted to "family violence" which is characterized as psychological or emotional abuse including intimidation or harassment of a family member.

"It is not in the interests of justice for this Court to allow its processes to be used as a vehicle for perpetrating family violence of this nature," the court ruled.

The court then slapped more restrictions on Hokhold.

The court ruled all his child support arrears and court costs had to be paid before he could proceed with any other legal action. The Appeal Court Justices also ruled Hokhold could no longer represent himself and would have to use a lawyer.

"(Hokhold) has taken unto himself, from the pool of judicial resources available in this province, more than can be said to be his fair share," the decision reads.

READ MORE: Court won't even consider latest filings from Vernon dentist, vexatious litigant

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