National

'Vexatious Litigant' Charles Bryfogle Banned From Entering Any Courthouse In British Columbia

The Canadian Press, 15 Jun, 2015 11:40 AM

KAMLOOPS, B.C. — A 74-year-old man who wrongfully acted as a lawyer and created legal documents has been banned from entering any courthouse in British Columbia.

Charles Bryfogle has been found guilty on eight counts of being in contempt of court and is forbidden from filing legal documents on behalf of himself or others.

The ruling in B.C. Supreme Court in Kamloops came after a legal action by the province's regulator for lawyers.

The B.C. Law Society wanted to see Bryfogle go to jail for 21 days, but Justice Victoria Gray handed him a three-year suspended sentence and said he will jailed if he breaches his probation terms.

Brydogle has been declared a "vexatious litigant" in both B.C. and Arizona. The term applies to people who consistently engage in court actions that harass people or undermine the justice system.

Gray called Bryfogle's conduct troubling.

“Mr. Bryfogle is not a lawyer and has never been a lawyer,” she wrote in a decision released Friday.

Court records show Bryfogle's legal misadventures have included representing litigants in a case involving mercury poisoning from dental work, creating a trust document, and slander and defamation against his own family.

At times he has been paid for his work. He breached previous terms of orders requiring him to inform the B.C. Law Society of any legal action.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

A look at what went wrong with the Nutrition North food subsidy program

IQALUIT, Nunavut — For years, northerners have complained about Nutrition North to anyone who would listen, grumbling that the $60-million annual federal food subsidy was doing little to ease their staggering grocery costs.

A look at what went wrong with the Nutrition North food subsidy program

Federal polls show race is tightening but can't explain the reasons why

OTTAWA — A spate of public opinion surveys this autumn has prompted the usual end-of-year parsing of political fortunes and chin-stroking prognostications about a federal election that may still be 10 months in the future.

Federal polls show race is tightening but can't explain the reasons why

Police say 3-year-old boy struck in face, abandoned at Surrey, B.C., bus stop

SURREY, B.C. — RCMP say they have made an arrest after receiving reports that a three-year-old boy was struck in the face and abandoned at a bus stop in Surrey, B.C.

Police say 3-year-old boy struck in face, abandoned at Surrey, B.C., bus stop

SkyTrain service in Metro Vancouver area halted by electrical fault

VANCOUVER — SkyTrain service has been halted between two busy stations in the Metro Vancouver area after what transit officials believe is an electrical fault.

SkyTrain service in Metro Vancouver area halted by electrical fault

B.C. poultry supply unaffected by avian flu; turkeys brought in to meet demand

VANCOUVER — Poultry producers are assuring B.C. residents there will be plenty of turkeys on store shelves during the holidays despite an avian flu outbreak that has killed thousands of animals.

B.C. poultry supply unaffected by avian flu; turkeys brought in to meet demand

Oilsands leak that fouled aquifer is close to site where oil bubbled to surface

EDMONTON — A Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. oilsands operation that has contaminated a groundwater aquifer is renewing questions about a technology that has already been linked to another serious leak in northern Alberta.