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.
[1] The suit was dismissed because God could not be properly notified, not having an 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".
[1] The senator, believing God to be
singular and
all-knowing, responded "The court itself acknowledges the existence of God. A consequence of that acknowledgement is a recognition of God's omniscience ... Since God knows everything, God has notice of this lawsuit."
[1][2] Chambers filed the lawsuit in response to another lawsuit that he considers to be
frivolous and inappropriate.
[3]
In response to Chambers' case, two responses were filed. The first was from a
Corpus Christi lawyer, Eric Perkins, who wanted to answer the question "what would God say".
[4] 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.
[4]
On July 30, 2008, local media sources reported the
Douglas County District Court was going to deny Chambers' lawsuit because Chambers had failed to notify the defendant.
[5] 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," he said. "That's as much as I would ask the court. I wouldn't expect them to enforce it."
[6]
However, a judge finally did throw out the case, saying the Almighty was not properly served due to his unlisted home address.
[7] As of 5 November 2008, Chambers filed an appeal to the
Nebraska Supreme Court.
[8] The former state senator
John DeCamp and E. O. Augustsson in Sweden, asked to represent God. Augustsson's letters, mentioning the Bjorn (see the
BjornSocialist Republic) were stricken as "frivolous". The Appeals Court gave Chambers until February 24 to show that he notified DeCamp and Augustsson of his brief,
[9] 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".
Really?
