Lawsuit of the Day: God is Indemnified

Given the state of the world, we can understand some anger at the Big Guy Upstairs. And the best way to deal with anger is in the courtroom, right?

So thought former Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers. He sued God last year, “seeking a permanent injunction to prevent God from committing acts of violence such as earthquakes and tornadoes.”

Judge Marlon Polk threw out the suit, and all future suits against the Almighty. From the Omaha World-Herald:

You can’t sue God if you can’t serve the papers on him, a Douglas County District Court judge ruled in Omaha Tuesday.

Judge Marlon Polk threw out Nebraska Sen. Ernie Chambers’ lawsuit against the Almighty, saying there was no evidence that the defendant had been served. What’s more, Polk found “there can never be service effectuated on the named defendant.”

Chambers, an avowed atheist and Creighton University School of Law grad, defended his suit, saying he was trying to make a point. He doesn’t think that the Nebraska legislature should prohibit certain lawsuits. We’re not sure we see the logic behind defending frivolous lawsuits by filing a frivolous lawsuit, but we are amused by his legal arguments:

In August, [Chambers] argued that Polk should take judicial notice of the existence of God. The senator cited the facts that U.S. currency says “In God We Trust,” God is invoked during oaths in court hearings, and chaplains offer prayers before legislative bodies.

“If God is omnipresent,” Chambers said in that August hearing, “then he is here in Douglas County and in this courtroom.”

Polk denied as moot the motion to take judicial notice of God.

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Chambers’ suit against God tossed out [Omaha World-Herald]

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