Luckett

Our opinion today results in a partial win for appellant John Luckett. As we explain below, courts do indeed have the statutory authority to lift a prefiling order entered against an individual adjudicated to be a vexatious litigant. And, while we affirm the trial court’s order declining to lift a prefiling order against John Luckett this time, we also provide a roadmap as to how Luckett, or any other a person already adjudicated to be a vexatious litigant, can succeed in having that determination lifted.

I. THE ISSUE OF THE “PERPETUAL” VEXATIOUS LITIGANT

Two cases have previously touched on (though not directly tackled) the general issue of the permanency of a vexatious litigant determination (see Code Civ. Proc., § 391, subd. (b)(4) ), a determination which can entail a “prefiling order” requiring a vexatious litigant to obtain permission before he or she may file any further litigation (see § 391.7, subd. (a)). The two cases are Wolfgram v. Wells Fargo Bank (1997) 53 Cal.App.4th 43 [ 61 Cal.Rptr.2d 694 ] and PBA, LLC v. KPOD, Ltd. (2003) 112 Cal.App.4th 965 [ 5 Cal.Rptr.3d 532 ].

Wolfgram is a sustained examination of the general operation of the vexatious litigant…