Vexatious litigant

Courts have the constitutional obligation and the inherent power to protect against conduct that impairs the court's ability to conduct their functions. . . . Where "vexatious conduct hinders the court from fulfilling its constitutional duty," courts have enjoined individuals from filing without court approval or placed other severe limits on the ability to file new cases. . . . The injunction must not, however, effectively deny access to the courts, and the district court must give the litigant notice and an opportunity to be heard prior to granting the injunction. . . . The factors to be considered in evaluating whether to issue a pre-filing injunction are: (1) the litigant's history of vexatious litigation; (2) whether the litigant has an objective good faith belief in the merit of the action; (3) whether the litigant is represented by counsel; (4) whether the litigant has caused needless expense or unnecessary burdens on the opposing party and/or the court; and (5) the adequacy of other sanctions.