Barratry (common law)

Barratry is a special kind of crime that was common in England long ago. It is a crime that involved a person encouraging or forcing other people to bring legal lawsuits. This was done for their own gain, for example if a person was paid by the party bringing the lawsuit. It is against the law to do this because it causes damage in the form of people wasting their time and money on lawsuits, when it may not have been necessary and nothing was wrong in the first place.