#frivolous-lawsuits — Public Fediverse posts

The Man Who Sued Everyone (Including Guinness): Inside Jonathan Lee Riches’ Legal Chaos

Dear Cherubs, Jonathan Lee Riches is what happens when a filing fee meets unlimited imagination and absolutely no intention of subtlety. Over the years, he became infamous for launching thousands of lawsuits from prison, targeting everyone from presidents to pop stars—and yes, even institutions like Guinness World Records.

THE MAN WHO SUED EVERYONE, INCLUDING REALITY
Riches’ reputation comes from an almost surreal volume of legal filings submitted while he was incarcerated in the United States. According to publicly documented court records and summaries, he filed thousands of civil complaints, many of which read less like legal arguments and more like chaotic crossovers between celebrity gossip and alternate history fan fiction.

Among his more widely reported targets were George W. Bush, Britney Spears, Michael Vick, Steve Jobs, and even abstract entities like the Eiffel Tower. At one point, he even attempted legal action involving Guinness World Records, reportedly in response to disputes around “most litigious person” style labels. Spoiler: the courts were not entertained.

As noted in reporting compiled by sources like Wikipedia and federal court summaries, these cases were consistently dismissed as frivolous, legally insufficient, or failing basic procedural requirements. Judges did not so much “consider” his claims as they did swiftly send them into judicial oblivion.

Low-key, the legal system treated his filings like someone spamming the “submit” button on reality itself.

WHEN COURTS STOPPED PLAYING ALONG
Eventually, the pattern became impossible to ignore. Courts across multiple jurisdictions began dismissing his cases en masse, often citing the Prison Litigation Reform Act rules designed to prevent abusive or repetitive filings. In simpler terms: the system basically said, “we are not doing this with you anymore.”

In some instances, courts reportedly imposed restrictions on his ability to file new lawsuits without permission. That’s the legal equivalent of being put on “internet probation,” but for courtrooms.

What makes Riches so widely discussed isn’t that he ever won landmark cases—he didn’t—but rather the sheer scale and creativity of his filings. It’s giving legal chaos energy with zero filters and maximum persistence.

According to commentary on thisclaimer.com, cases like his highlight how open court systems can be both powerful and vulnerable: they allow access to justice, but also occasionally become stages for absurdity when abused. It’s a reminder that procedure matters just as much as imagination.

Today, Riches remains a reference point in legal discussions about vexatious litigants—people who file so many baseless suits that courts must step in to protect the system itself. In internet terms, he basically achieved “ban speedrun any%,” but through federal court orders.

So while Guinness World Records may not be adding a “most chaotic litigant” category anytime soon, Jonathan Lee Riches already occupies a permanent niche in legal folklore: the man who sued basically everything except, ironically, common sense.

Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Lee_Riches

The Washington Post reports: "CBS owner Paramount settles Trump lawsuit over Harris interview for $16M"
https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2025/07/02/paramount-cbs-settlement-trump-harris-interview/
#MadKingDonald #TrumpCrimeFamily #news #Paramount #CBS #bribery #kowtow #resist #GrifterInChief #FrivolousLawsuits

Republican lawsuits threaten #American #Military members right to #VoteFromAbroad.

"...the lawsuits threaten the right to vote for hundreds of thousands of overseas voters, and military groups say undermining the right to vote for service members who put their life on the line for their country is particularly egregious."

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4940077-military-voters-see-direct-attack-from-gop-election-challenges/

#MilitaryVoters #FrivolousLawsuits #RIghtToVote #VoteBlue

@scalzi I have my doubts that the SC will even take this up. #embarrassing #frivolouslawsuits

One thing for sure is a fact:

Pre-Musk twitter never "censored" Trump for "political viewpoints" — which he doesn't have at all.
Neither did twitter ever even "censor" Trump for his antisocial, criminal statements — until it could no longer avoid it, on Jan 6, 2021 — when Trump had still a few days left to loaf around in White House.

So when anyone would idiotically try to suggest (like the bogus "twitter files", Trump, Musk & others do), that government interfered to have Trump's insurrectionary twitter account suspended, it would've been the then-Trump admin itself.
Which is of course bullshit, because the First Amendment says "NO, government, you can't forbid harmless free speech with your laws — but private corps can well do that!"
(While everyone knows, that Trump's utterances are NOT harmless at all, as proven by the consequences of all his tweets preceding his infamous Jan 6 insurrection rally near to the Capitol.)

https://www.techdirt.com/2023/06/05/twitter-admits-in-court-filing-elon-musk-is-simply-wrong-about-government-interference-at-twitter/
#RuleOfLaw #AccountabilityNow #JusticeMatters #Trump #Musk #TwitterFiles #Manipulation #Misinformation #Disinformation #FrivolousLawsuits #AbuseOfCourts #ContemptOfCourt

A #YouTuber, #MarshallDaniels—who has posted #FarRight-leaning videos under the name "Young Pharaoh" since 2015—tried to argue that YouTube violated his #FirstAmendment rights by removing two videos discussing #GeorgeFloyd and #COVID19. Years later, Daniels now owes #YouTube nearly $40k in attorney fees for filing a frivolous lawsuit against YouTube owner Alphabet Inc.

Judge said the complaint never had a chance of winning.

#YoungPharaoh #FrivolousLawsuits #Alphabet
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/03/youtuber-must-pay-40k-in-attorneys-fees-for-daft-reverse-censorship-suit/

@KinoGhoul Dallas News on the "Republican" judge's more than questionable decision to throw out TX state bar's disciplinary case against Trump-accomplice, election-denier & conspiracy theorist Sidney Powell:

"What a travesty of justice. Such errors occur in court cases often. And while not excusable, they shouldn’t be a basis for a judge to throw out such a serious case without considering evidence."

This decision definitely needs not be the end of the story suggesting that Powell's free to go on conspiring, lying & harassing courts with frivolous lawsuits overturning reality & properly certified results of elections.
Disbarment isn't dead.

#RuleOfLaw #Democracy #2020Election #BigLie #Incitement #Jan6 #Insurrection #Overthrow #DisbarSidneyPowell #FrivolousLawsuits #PartyOfLies #DefraudingAmerica
https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/2023/03/03/judge-bungled-ruling-in-sidney-powell-disciplinary-case/

@JonChevreau Litigation junkie can't get enough of initiating frivolous lawsuits abusing & mocking the judiciary.

#RuleOfLaw #Sanctions #DrainTheTrump #FrivolousLawsuits #ContemptOfCourts

Gifted @washingtonpost article: A judge rebukes — and punishes — Trump’s false Russia narrative @pbump

Trump's Russia argument is "perhaps acceptable as a cable news talking point," a federal judge said, but not as a legal claim. https://wapo.st/3WsCGuS

#trump #courts #clinton #comey #habba #frivolouslawsuits

If the past is any indication of the future, all the dominant #incumbents in the trillion dollar #SocialMedia and #ads #business will start harassing #Mastodon instance operators with all kinds of #litigation and #FrivolousLawsuits in an effort to fight against the tide, to make people afraid and disinclined to run servers. They will also try to affect the legislation to make it harder to run Mastodon instances, to protect their interests.
I hope everyone is ready. We'll need #LegalDefenceFunds.