Question: Ever since my husband and I separated nine months ago, he and his family have done everything possible to try to make me look bad to the judge and to our children (11 and 13) who are in my custody. Even though he never spent much time with the children and even though he left me for another woman, he is seeking custody of the children and is filing papers saying that I am unfit, use drugs, and have had sexual relationships with other women – all of which are untrue.

Because he made these charges, the judge required me to get a psychiatric evaluation and granted him excessive visitation. My friends and family have been put to depositions and have all been asked about these absurd charges which has been very embarrassing to me. My lawyer has done a good job countering all of these false accusations, but they keep coming because my husband ‘s lawyer is being paid by his parents, and my fees are astronomical. Is there anything I can do short of having to spend another year defending myself against these baseless lies?

Answer: Generally speaking, a person who makes an allegation against another person in litigation must have a good faith basis in fact to support the allegation. That said, assuming everything you say is true, it appears that your husband – with the help of his parents – is treading on very thin ice.

With the increasing volume and complexity of litigation today, there is no place in our court system for frivolous allegations or tactics which are designed to prolong the case in order to bring an underfunded adversary to his or her knees. While judges must take serious allegations such as drug use and sexual misconduct seriously, once there is proof that the allegations are untrue and used to try to gain strategic advantages, judges should act quickly and decisively to put an end to litigation by torment.

In point is the recent Massachusetts case of Basel v. Basel. There, during a two-and-a-half year custody case, the former husband alleged the mother was a drunk, a drug addict, and a child abuser, all without basis. Of the more than $600,000 in legal fees generated in this case, half were funded by Mr. Basel’s parents.

Although Mr. Basel accused Mrs. Basel of using alcohol and marijuana, abusing the children, and being mentally unstable, the judge found that these allegations were false. He also determined that Mr. Basel’s conduct lead to the breakdown of the marriage and that his actions complicated and prolonged every aspect of the litigation by trying to destroy Mrs. Basel’s credibility with falsehoods.

Finding that Mr. Basel had waged a ''calculated campaign of outrageous behavior to destroy (his) wife's credibility,'' the Massachusetts trial judge required him to pay $100,000 of Mrs. Basel’s attorney’s fees and expenses. Mr. Basel also lost custody of his children and his home.

In explaining his award of $100,000 of Mrs. Basel’s fees, the judge found that her legal bills were ''a direct result of the husband's manipulative, nefarious conduct as it relates to his fraudulent portrayal of his wife as an unfit parent.''

By sending a clear message to litigants who choose to wage frivolous, scorched-earth campaigns that they assume the risk of paying the price for both sides of the litigation, courts may be able to stem the tide of unnecessary litigation. It may take only a few decisions like this to persuade estranged spouses not to use the courts as a vehicle of to destroy the other side.

In fact, if might be wise for courts to provide litigants with copies of cases like Basel v. Basel at the outset of the lawsuit in order to make sure warring spouses are aware of the potential cost of frivolous litigation.