- Let's face it.
When you're trying to get God
to intervene on your behalf,
silent prayer is only going to get you so far.
So it was only a matter of time until someone sued God.
According to many religious traditions,
God created the universe.
So really when you think about it,
it's only fair that he or she should pay
for the damages that they've caused.
And in fact, the last part of a complaint,
the thing that starts a lawsuit,
is called a Prayer For Relief and that is not a coincidence,
except that it completely is just a coincidence.
So let's look at some instances where people have tried
to bring God and Satan to justice.
The first is where a man sued Satan
and his staff for his own problems.
In 1971, Gerald Mayo filed a class action lawsuit
against Satan and his staff,
because I guess like any small business owner,
Satan relies on clerical workers to dot the I's
and cross the T's.
Mayo, a 22-year-old inmate at Western Penitentiary
in Pittsburgh, alleged the following quote,
"Satan has on numerous occasions caused plaintiff misery
and unwanted threats against the will of plaintiff,
that Satan has placed deliberate obstacles in his path,
and caused plaintiff's downfall.
And by reason of these acts,
Satan has deprived him of his constitutional rights."
Yes, that is an actual federal court case.
Mayo had filed his complaint in forma pauperis,
which in Latin,
translates to in the manner or character of a pauper.
This allows for an indigent party to get court costs waived
and is most commonly used by inmates filing suit.
However, a federal court will still reject
a prisoner's application under the following circumstances,
that the allegation of poverty is untrue,
the action is frivolous or malicious,
the complaint does not state a claim
on which relief can be granted,
or an inmate sues a defendant for money damages
and that defendant is immune from liability
for money damages.
Pennsylvania Judge Gerald Weber denied Mayo's petition
on the third ground writing that,
this court has serious doubts
that the complaint reveals a cause of action
upon which relief can be granted by the court.
In a one page order dripping with irony,
Judge Weber detailed other issues Mayo might have had
in regard to suing the prince of darkness.
Judge Weber questioned
whether the court even has jurisdiction to hear the case,
noting that Mayo failed to allege whether Satan even lives
in the Western district of Pennsylvania,
while noting that there is no official case
in which the devil has appeared as a defendant,
Judge Weber jokingly referred to quote,
"an unofficial account of a trial
in New Hampshire, where this defendant filed an action
of mortgage foreclosure as plaintiff."
This was a reference to the short story,
The Devil and Daniel Webster,
where a farmer who sells his soul
to the devil is defended before a jury of the damned
by famous 19th century American statesman, lawyer,
and order Daniel Webster.
Though, if you're like me,
you're probably more familiar
with the treehouse of horror story,
the devil and Homer Simpson.
- I'd sell my soul for a donut.
- Which is basically exactly the same story.
In this context, Judge Weber noted, without deciding,
that as a foreign prince, Satan might be able
to claim sovereign immunity to shield him from litigation.
In rejecting this complaint,
Judge Weber also highlighted another potential issue,
namely that Mayo could not satisfy the requirements
to bring a class action lawsuit.
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23,
Judge Weber noted that while Mayo might be able
to meet the first three requirements
of a class action suit,
the court was unable to determine
whether Mayo could fairly
and adequately protect the interests
of the class that he was purporting to represent.
And finally, in denying Mayo's petition,
Judge Weber noted that Mayo had failed
to provide specific instructions
to US Marshals for how to serve Satan with a complaint.
But this lawsuit shows why it's so hard to sue the devil.
All these rules of civil procedure were written
by people who are already working for the devil, lawyers.
But then there's the man who tried to sue God
to stop natural disasters.
One of the most devastating effects
of climate change has been the increase
of severe weather events, such as flash flooding,
and more frequent and destructive hurricanes.
And most of the proposed solutions for dealing
with increasing natural disasters involve regulating carbon
and shifting to renewable energy sources,
which are boring. (buzzer sounds)
But in 2007, one Nebraska State Senator opted
for a more direct approach.
Get a court order against God prohibiting
from any more destruction.
Enter Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers,
who left office in 2021 after a record 46 years
in Nebraska's legislature.
Senator Chambers is no stranger
to standing out among his more conservative colleagues.
During his career, he would don a sweatshirt
and jeans instead of a jacket and tie.
And as an avowed agnostic in the devout state,
Senator Chambers made no secret
of his lack of religious faith.
In his 2007 complaint,
the Senator accused God of causing quote,
"fearsome floods, horrendous hurricanes,
terrifying tornadoes,
and of making terroristic threats against the Senator
and his constituents, inspiring fear and causing" quote,
"widespread death, destruction, and terrorization
of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants."
And Senator Chambers based his ability
to sue God as quote,
"that defendant, being omnipresent,
is personally present in Douglas County."
And in his Prayer for Relief,
Senator Chambers requested a permanent injunction,
ordering defendant to cease certain harmful activities
and making terroristic threats.
And in 2008,
Douglas County District Court Judge Marlon Polk
threw out the lawsuit citing Senator Chamber's failure
to personally serve God with the complaint.
Judge Polk, referring to Nebraska law
that requires the plaintiff to have access
to the defendant for a lawsuit to move forward,
ruled that God's lack of a listed home address was fatal
to Chamber's action, quote,
"Given that this court finds
that there can never be service effectuated
on the named defendant,
this action will be dismissed with prejudice."
After the ruling, Senator Chambers,
who graduated from law school, but never took the bar exam,
highlighted what he felt was a flaw in the Judge's reasoning
that God had not been properly served.
"This court itself acknowledges the existence of a God.
A consequence of that acknowledgement is a recognition
of God's omnipresence.
Since God knows everything,
God has notice of this lawsuit."
Which is kind of hilarious because substitution of service
through notice of publication is actually a real thing.
But you might be asking,
"why would an avid agnostic sue God
in the first place?"
Well, he wanted to make a point
about the importance of an open court system.
The Nebraska State Constitution guarantees the right
of the people to seek relief in the courts,
as provided in Article One, Section 13, quote,
"All courts shall be open, and every person,
for any injury done to him or her in his or her lands,
goods, person, or reputation shall have a remedy
by due course of law and justice administered
without denial or delay."
Senator Chambers made clear that he was not suing God due
to any specific beef with the deity.
And I remind you, he didn't even think that God existed,
but rather his lawsuit was a specific form of protest.
At the time, Nebraska legislators were filing various bills
to curb so-called frivolous lawsuits
and Senator Chambers believed that these laws
violated the Nebraska Constitution's guarantee
of open courts, though,
sadly because this court refused to issue an injunction,
floods and hurricanes have continued,
and God continues to evade American law enforcement.
Which takes us to the time that a hippie commune tried
to involve God in a fraudulent conspiracy.
The 1960s were a wild time of free love,
mind-altering drugs, and rock and roll.
All three of which could be found
at the Morningstar Commune in Occidental, California.
But when Johnny Law came
to the Northern California hippie compound,
after legal woes
and health code violations piled up,
the owner had a unique solution,
deed his property to God and make it his problem.
Morningstar was founded in 1966 by Louis Gottlieb,
bassist for the American folk group, The Limeliters.
An ex-communist with a PhD in musicology
from UC Berkeley,
Gottlieb came to believe that private property was a sin
and opened Morningstar to create a welcoming space
for all comers.
Accordingly, Morningstar operated
under the acronym credo "LATWIDNO",
Land Access To Which Is Denied No One.
this 31 acre clothing-optional farmland
embodied the pinnacle of the California hippie movement.
But if you ask the neighbors,
the compounds, tents, and tree houses
were a walking health, safety, and fire code violation.
And soon, Gottlieb's legal troubles began to pile up
with Morningstar's numerous health and building violations
ultimately leading to fines totally nearly $18,500,
approximately $140,000 in today's money.
- They're hippies, they don't have any money.
- Sonoma County even ordered all people
to vacate the commune.
And in an effort to end his legal troubles,
Gottlieb offered to donate Morningstar to the county,
but was refused.
But then in May 1969,
Gottlieb came up with a creative solution.
He deeded the property to the Almighty himself.
Gottlieb argued that God owned the property,
so it was now God's problem to deal
with the fines and code violations.
But in July 1970, Superior Court Judge Kenneth Iman
rejected Gottlieb's novel legal theory.
The law the judge wrote requires that quote,
"The grantee must be a person, either natural or artificial,
in existence at the time of the conveyance and capable
of taking title."
And accordingly,
since Gottlieb could not affirmatively prove
that God was a natural person or entity,
the Judge reasoned God had no property rights
in the the state of California.
Judge Iman then voided the deed
and invalidated the property transfer.
And by 1971 bulldozers were sent
to level nearly every building on the ranch.
Gottlieb passed away in 1996
and the land is still owned by his heirs to this day.
All of whom are corporeal people,
actually existing in real life,
and show no signs of omnipresence or omnipotence.
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