How One Arizona Woman Sued Someone Who Can't Be Sued

Since the dawn of time, mankind has been on a quest to prove meaning for our existence. Of course, this culminated with the formation/understanding of religion, which gave us our divine creator: God.

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Of course, since life isn't perfect all the time, it's unsurprising that some would take issue with the man upstairs, but one Arizona woman took it further than anyone ever has.

Lightning in a Bottle (or a Home)

This story starts in Phoenix, AZ, where one Betty Penrose lived. On August 17th, 1960 her home was struck by lightning, which she viewed as divine punishment for a crime she didn't believe she committed.

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West, in Sebastapol, California, legendary singer Lou Gottlieb was attempting to build a hippie commune at his Morning Star Ranch. The government was not too keen on this, and attempted to levy ridiculous fines to get him to close the property. As retaliation, Gottlieb transferred the property to God believing the government would never be able to collect.

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The Lawsuit

This move piqued the interest of Attorney Russell Tansie, Penrose's employer. He believed that, since God technically owned property in California, he was available to be sued. So, in 1969, he helped Penrose build a lawsuit against God himself for negligent damage.

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Unfortunately, God's deed to Gottlieb's land was deemed invalid as he could not physically come and take possession of the land (as far as we know). As such, the case was thrown out. If the deed had not been thrown out, however, it's likely God would have no-showed at the court date, and Penrose would have won by default.

[Lawsuits Against Supernatural Beings via Wikipedia][Weird Universe]