Betty Penrose In 1969, Arizonan lawyer Russel T. Tansie filed a suit against God on behalf of his secretary, Betty Penrose, seeking $100,000 in damages. Penrose blamed God for his "negligence" in allowing a lightning bolt to strike her house. The lawsuit was filed in a Californian court under the argument that God owned property in
Sonoma County, California, due to the
Limeliters singer Lou Gottlieb transferring the deed of his
Morning Star Ranch to God about a week before. The deed was ruled invalid, due to God not being able to take possession of the property, and hence Penrose's lawsuit was also ruled invalid.
Gerald Mayo United States ex rel. Gerald Mayo v. Satan and His Staff was a 1971 case filed before the
United States district court for the
Western District of
Pennsylvania in which Gerald Mayo alleged that "
Satan has on numerous occasions caused plaintiff misery and unwarranted threats, against the will of plaintiff, that Satan has placed deliberate obstacles in his path and has caused plaintiff's downfall" and had therefore "deprived him of his constitutional rights". (Depriving someone of constitutional rights is prohibited under several sections of the
United States Code.) Mayo filed
in forma pauperis—that is, he asserted that he would not be able to afford the costs associated with his lawsuit and that they therefore should be waived. The Court refused the request to proceed
in forma pauperis because the plaintiff had not included instructions for how the
U.S. Marshal could
serve process on Satan.
Ralph Perry Forbes In 1986,
Ralph Perry Forbes, an American perennial candidate and neo-Nazi, known for filing numerous federal lawsuits over racial and political issues, sued the
Russellville School District,
Arkansas Department of Education, the
Arkansas Education Association, an official of the education department, the
Church of Satan, and
Satan. The suit was on the behalf of all children and Jesus, as well as himself, in an effort to stop the education system from celebrating Halloween, which Forbes called "the Christmas of the anti-Christs". Federal judge
George Howard Jr. heard the case. Local lawyer John Wesley Hall Jr. defended the devil "at no cost"; Hall argued that Forbes did not provide enough evidence that Satan "transacts business, owns property or committed any torts" in the state, and that the allegations against Satan could not be proven in court due to the
First Amendment, so advocated for the suit's dismissal. The suit was ultimately dismissed by Judge Howard. The suit was dismissed by the court in Timisoara in 2007, ruling that "God is not a person in the eyes of the law and does not have an address."
Ernie Chambers In the
U.S. state of
Nebraska,
State Senator Ernie Chambers filed a suit in 2008 against God, seeking a permanent injunction against God's harmful activities, as an effort to publicize the issue of public access to the court system. The suit was dismissed because God could not be properly notified, not having a fixed address. The Judge stated, "Given that this court finds that there can never be service effectuated on the named defendant this action will be
dismissed with prejudice". Nebraska media inaccurately reported that Chambers filed the lawsuit in response to another lawsuit that he considered to be
frivolous and inappropriate. Chambers clarified that, on the contrary, his intention was to demonstrate that no lawsuit should be considered frivolous. He feels anyone should be able to sue anyone else, "
Little Orphan Annie no less than
Daddy Warbucks and
Warren Buffett." By suing God he "emphasized that attempts by the Legislature to prohibit the filing of any lawsuit would run afoul of the
Nebraska Constitution's guarantee that the doors to the courthouse must be open to everyone." Two responses to Chambers' case were filed. The first was from a
Corpus Christi lawyer, Eric Perkins, who wanted to answer the question "what would God say". The second was filed in
Douglas County, Nebraska District Court. The source of the second response, claiming to be from God, is unclear as no contact information was given. However, on August 1, Chambers was granted a court date of August 5 in order to proceed with his lawsuit. "The scheduling hearing will give me a chance to lay out the facts that would justify the granting of the motion," Chambers was quoted as saying. He added, "Once the court enters the injunction, that's as much as I can do ... That's as much as I would ask the court. I wouldn't expect them to enforce it." However, a judge threw out the case, saying that God was not properly served due to his lack of a listed home address. As of November 5, 2008, Chambers had filed an appeal to the
Nebraska Supreme Court. The former state senator
John DeCamp and E. O. Augustsson in Sweden, asked to represent God. Augustsson's letters, mentioning
the Bjorn were stricken as "frivolous". The Appeals Court gave Chambers until February 24 to show that he notified DeCamp and Augustsson of his brief, which he did. The case was finally closed on February 25 when the Nebraska Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal and vacated the order of the district court. The court quoted cases according to which "[a] court decides real controversies and determines rights actually controverted, and does not address or dispose of abstract questions or issues that might arise in hypothetical or fictitious situation or setting".
Chandan Kumar Singh Chandan Kumar Singh, a lawyer from
Bihar,
India, sued the Hindu god
Rama for mistreating his wife, the goddess
Sita. The court dismissed his case, held on , calling it "impractical". == Fictional suits ==