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Ex-cop with ‘insatiable’ appetite for court on verge of becoming vexatious litigant
A former police officer kicked out after assault convictions may be declared a vexatious litigant after his latest proceedings brought a full court bench together to hear appeals of two registrar decisions.
Naomi Neilson
More than two decades on from his termination, Trevor Ferdinands has continued to institute proceedings in different courts and tribunals over allegations the South Australia Police forced him out over “racially motivated and corruptly fabricated charges”.
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According to the Federal Court, Ferdinands was dismissed in 2001 following a 1999 prosecution of a charge of assaulting an inferior officer and a 2001 conviction of an assault.
Brought together to hear an appeal of two registrar decisions, Justices Elizabeth Cheeseman, Scott Goodman and Timothy McEvoy said Ferdinands “continues to be pertinacious in the face of repeated rejection of his claim case after case”.
“An overarching and relevant feature of the present appeals is that Ferdinands is a repeat and frequent litigant in this court and in other courts and tribunals,” the bench said.
“His appetite for commencing and pursuing litigation is properly described as insatiable.”
Although he “enjoyed transient episodes of success” in the beginning, the full court bench said the majority of his cases were dismissed and attracted criticisms that the claims were “without merit, frivolous, vexatious, doomed to fail and an abuse of process”.
“The present appeals and the large number of proceedings which Ferdinands has instituted over a prolonged period of many years in this court have consumed considerable court time and resources,” Justices Cheeseman, Goodman and McEvoy said.
Following a finding that the registrars acted appropriately, the full bench turned its attention to determining whether Ferdinands should be declared a vexatious litigant.
“In taking this step, we are conscious of the need to consider, on the one hand, Ferdinands’ individual rights and then, on the other hand, the broader considerations in protecting the court’s processes and procedures, including by reference to the impost on court time and resources and the potential detriment to other litigants,” they said.
Before the order is potentially made, the full bench said Ferdinands should have an opportunity to respond and invited him to file material he may wish to rely on. The court will determine it on the papers unless Ferdinands elects to have an oral hearing.
The case is Ferdinands v Registrar Burns [2024] FCAFC 105 (21 August 2024)
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
