An Armstrong dentist deemed a "vexatious litigant" by B.C.'s top courts has lost his latest battle in a decade-plus custody battle with his ex-wife.
Andrew Hokhold was barred in 2022 from filing any more lawsuits in B.C. until he paid up on child support.
However, that didn't stop him from pursuing action in the Saskatchewan court system after his ex-spouse moved there with their two children in 2014.
Hokhold sought to prevent his ex from legally changing the last name of their children.
His suit named Saskatchewan's minister of justice and attorney general, eHealth Saskatchewan, director of vital statistics along with the children's mother.
"The change of the children's names is interconnected with high-conflict family litigation ... which has been ongoing since 2010. The family litigation has been incessant, with more than 1,000 documents filed, in excess of 80 orders issued, and multiple appeals," the Dec. 15 Saskatchewan Court of King's Bench decision states.
The mother said the main reason for the change was to protect the children's identities from internet searches that would associate the children with the litigation.
Hokhold's claim was dismissed in what was previously called a "scorched earth" legal battle.
He was also ordered to pay the children's mother $2,500 in court costs.
The three-judge panel blasted Hokhold's "excessively lengthy and often difficult to follow" claims, which "served to unduly complicate and lengthen this matter."
Meanwhile, a Dec. 28 BC Supreme Court decision in Vancouver successfully appealed dismissal of the mother's application for resumption of spousal support, which had expired.
The mother claimed her ex's "litigation violence" has led to mental and psychological harm and disabled her from work.
"Appeal allowed, but only to the extent of remitting the question of whether the monthly payments for outstanding arrears and costs should be increased to the trial court. ...The chamber judge's conclusion that the evidence was insufficient to establish a material change in circumstances is entitled to deference and the appellant is unable to identify a material misapprehension of the evidence or error in principle," the decision stated.
The second decision noted Hokhold's "lengthy history of using the court's process as a weapon to harass" his former partner.
As of 2017, Hokhold owed $450,000 in back child support.
In 2019, Hokhold told the Vancouver Sun the legal battle had cost him more than $15 million.
It's unknown how much Hokhold currently owes.
