The modern law of abuse of process was set out by the House of Lords in Johnson v Gore Wood & Co. For present purposes, the “underlying public interest” that “there should be finality in litigation and that a party should not be twice vexed in the same matter” (per Lord Bingham at 31) gives rise to two separate types of abuse. The first is res judicata in the form of cause of action estoppel or issue estoppel, where a cause of action or issue has already been raised in earlier proceedings and decided by the court. The second is traditionally known as Henderson v Henderson abuse, where a claim or defence is raised which should have been raised in earlier proceedings but was not. Continue reading
