gloria (ruiz flores) v Hovat Limited — 2025

The respondent applied under rule 38 of the Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024 to strike out the claimant's case on the grounds that the claimant had conducted the proceedings in an unreasonable and vexatious manner. The judgment records repeated correspondence and applications by the claimant challenging the respondent's solicitor's authority to act, making allegations of fraud and bad faith, refusing tribunal correspondence, and continuing to contact the respondent directly despite tribunal directions and warnings.

The tribunal noted that earlier judges had dismissed objections to the respondent's solicitor acting, refused the claimant's applications for default judgment or strike out, and warned the claimant that further correspondence in the same vein could lead to strike out. At the preliminary hearing, Employment Judge Ord found that the claimant had conducted the proceedings in an unreasonable and vexatious manner and, after considering proportionality and discretion, struck out the entirety of the claimant's claims.