Vernon dentist Dr. Andrew Hokhold

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Hockhold Inc.

VERNON - A Vernon dentist who once spent 10 days in prison for disobeying a court order, has been barred from taking anyone else to court without first having a judge's approval.

The ruling given out by Justice Allan Betton in a Vernon courtroom July 8 is the second time Andrew Nicholas Hokhold has had restrictions placed on him to prevent him from using the courts to sue.

"Dr. Hokhold will use any avenue available to him to pursue his 'scorched earth' approach to litigation," Justice Betton says in the decision.

Hokhold filed a notice of civil claim Feb. 26, 2019, accusing Justice Frank Cole, who had ruled on a previous case involving child support payments and the custody arrangements of his children, of committing "multiple frauds" and acting in "bad faith contrary to the Rule of Law."

In 2017 Hokhold was declared a "vexatious litigant" barred from taking any further legal action against his former spouse following high-conflict family litigation in which he pursued his ex-spouse through the courts on numerous occasions. He then spent 10 days in jail in 2018 for contempt of court after he breached several court orders.

Hokhold launched the suit against Justice Cole, as well as Justice Patrice Abrioux, Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson and the Attorney General of British Columbia and the Attorney General of Canada. On top of Hokhold's accusations against Justice Cole, he claimed the other judges "unlawfully defended and assisted" the Judge. His claims against the Attorneys General states that they are ultimately responsible for the conduct of judges.

Hokhold also claimed Justice Hinkson misled the RCMP by reporting the dentist's behaviour to the police. Justice Hinkson had reported Hokhold to police in 2016 saying he was concerned for his colleague's safety and security.

However, Justice Betton dismissed the claim and put further restrictions on Hokhold. The dentist, or anyone acting on his behalf, are now barred from taking legal proceedings without obtaining leave of a judge of the Supreme Court.

Justice Betton also put restrictions on the amount of paperwork Hokhold could file if he was given the go-ahead to proceed with legal action. Justice Betton limited applications to three pages or less in length, with only one affidavit no more than five pages long.

A judge had previously said Hokhold filed "hundreds if not thousands of pages" and that no judge could "digest such a stream of irrelevancies."

Aside from his legal battles with his former partner, Hokhold has filed an action alleging the Canada Revenue Agency, the Minister of National Revenue and his former partner conspired to cause him economic harm. The case is one of five the dentist has filed in the last three years.

In 2013 investigators ordered a reassessment and repayment after they discovered an improper tax haven funding a political party with dubious activities.

What costs Hokhold will have to pay are not yet decided, Justice Betton says in the decision he will make that ruling July 31.

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