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You cannot sue God... he has no known address
An American politician's attempt to sue God has been thrown out of court after a judge ruled the suit could not be served because the Almighty has an unlisted address.
By Catherine Elsworth in Los Angeles
Last Updated: 6:58AM BST 17 Oct 2008
Ernie Chambers, a Nebraska state senator, sought a "permanent injunction" that ordered God to stop causing "widespread death, destruction and terrorisation of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants".
The suit listed examples of God's wrath including "fearsome floods, horrendous hurricanes, earthquakes, plagues, famine, genocidal wars, birth defects, terrifying tornadoes and the like".
It identified the defendant, said to be "also known by various aliases, titles, names, designations" as "present in all places at the same time" and "the admitted perpetrator of the deleterious acts complained of herein".
The suit also claimed the "defendant" has "manifested neither compassion nor remorse, proclaiming that Defendant 'will laugh' when calamity comes".
Mr Chambers, of Omaha, has said he filed the lawsuit not because of any conflict with God but to make the point that everyone should access to the courts. It was response to proposals to prohibit the filing of lawsuits deemed too frivolous to be heard.
The senator argued that laws should not restrict lawsuits and the courts should be open to all. "The Constitution requires that the courthouse doors be open, so you cannot prohibit the filing of suits," he said after he filed his suit last September. "Anyone can sue anyone they choose, even God." He also argued that because of God's omnipresence, "the defendant is personally present in Douglas County (Nebraska)."
But Marlon Polk, Douglas County district court judge, ruled that under state law, a plaintiff must have access to the defendant and be able to serve papers on him or her for a lawsuit to go ahead.
"Given that this court finds that there can never be service effectuated on the named defendant this action will be dismissed with prejudice," the judge wrote.
Mr Chambers, 71, Nebraska's longest serving state senator who has been dubbed "defender of the downtrodden" and the "maverick of Omaha", disagreed with the judge's ruling.
"The court itself acknowledges the existence of God," he said. "A consequence of that acknowledgment is a recognition of God's omniscience."
Therefore, "since God knows everything, God has notice of this lawsuit", he added.
The senator, an independent, has served a record 38 years in the Nebraska Legislature and will not return next year because of term limits. According to the Associated Press, the self-proclaimed agnostic skips morning prayers during the legislative session and often criticises Christians
He has 30 days to decide whether to appeal the ruling.