Frivolous Litigation - Examples of Frivolous Court Filings

Examples of Frivolous Court Filings

In Washington v. Alaimo the court listed more than seventy-five frivolous "motions" (a request for a court to issue an order), all of which required the attention of the Court, including the following:

  • "Motion to Behoove an Inquisition"
  • "Motion for Judex Delegatus"
  • "Motion for Restoration of Sanity"
  • "Motion for Deinstitutionalization"
  • "Motion for Publicity"
  • "Motion to Vacate Jurisdiction"
  • "Motion for Cesset pro Cessus"
  • "Motion for Nunc pro tunc"
  • "Motion for Psychoanalysis"
  • "Motion to Impeach Judge Alaimo"
  • "Motion to Renounce Citizenship"
  • "Motion to Exhume Body of Alex Hodgson"
  • "Motion to Invoke and Execute Rule 15—Retroactive Note: The Court's School Days are Over"
  • "Motion for Skin Change Operation"
  • "Motion for Catered Food Services"
  • "Motion to Kiss My Ass"

Washington, an inmate from Georgia, was eventually prohibited from filing any future lawsuits or motions in any district court unless he first posted a contempt bond of $1,500. To be deemed frivolous, a litigant's arguments must strike beyond the pale.

Pearson v. Chung, the case of a Washington, D.C. judge, Roy Pearson, who sued a dry cleaning business for $67 million (later lowered to $54 million), has been cited as an example of frivolous litigation. According to Pearson, the dry cleaners lost his pants (which he brought in for a $10.50 alteration) and refused his demands for a large refund. Pearson believed that a 'Satisfaction Guaranteed' sign in the window of the shop legally entitled him to a refund for the cost of the pants, estimated at $1,000. The $54 million total also included $2 million in "mental distress" and $15,000 which he estimated to be the cost of renting a car every weekend to go to another dry cleaners.

In 2010, US federal prosecutors asked a judge to help them stop Jonathan Lee Riches from filing any more lawsuits, arguing that his frequent filings were frivolous.

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