# Can you sue yourself? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 16, 2007, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sue-yourself/412024 "2007-07-16T19:32:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sue-yourself/412024/21 "2013-02-20T15:20:33Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > Another variant I found with a quick search was protection against negligence suits. Basically, the owner of a building sues himself for negligence before somebody else does, presumably protecting the compensatory damages he receives from himself from confiscation in other suits. Any comment as to whether THAT scenario actually works, given that the guy has a case as personally being a victim of his own negligence as a building manager? Does not make sense. If he is the same person, he still has the assets and they are still liable to be handed over for any other lawsuit. More likely he is suing his company, thus transferring money from the liable company to hmself the person? Or he was hoping to establish a precedent for damages at a low number? ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sue-yourself/412024/22 "2013-02-20T15:42:25Z")
> [@MrBerious](#): > > I’d love to sue my younger self 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sue-yourself/412024/23 "2013-02-20T16:45:00Z")
A fairly famous “almost” for self-suit lists is Carter v. Carter Coal Co., which went to the Supreme Court despite being the next thing to a ‘manufactured’ suit. Without researching out the gory details: Messrs. Carter Sr. and Jr. owned and operated Carter Coal Co. in the 1930s. IIRC Carter Sr. was majority stockholder and Chairman, while Jr. ran day-to-day operations and held some shares. As a business, they were subject to one of the New Deal laws – one that Carter Sr. believed unconstitutional. So the Carters caused Carter Coal Co. to comply with the statute, including paying in some taxes. Then Carter Sr. sued the company he was majority owner of, and ran along with his son, praying the court to enjoin it from complying with an unconstitutional law. It was, of course, a strategem for challenging the constitutionality of the New Deal law. But the courts accepted it as a valid “case or controversy.” ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sue-yourself/412024/24 "2013-02-20T18:29:27Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > Since HM Queen Elizabeth is monarch of several realms and dominions, she can sue herself in right of one against another – or at least, the Crown in Right of one realm or dominion can sue the Crown in Right of another. However, legally, she’s several different persons: most of us don’t have a split legal personality like that. Speak for yourself SAINT CAD (corporate entity) v. Saint Cad (sovereign citizen), StCad(Freeman on the land), Saint Cad (not bound by Courts of Contract), et al ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sue-yourself/412024/25 "2013-02-20T18:41:33Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > I recall reading about a situation where Joe Blow, the invidual, sued his company, Joe Blow Inc. The company was able to take a tax deduction for the payment it made, while the individual did not have tax liability for the money he received. Sorry, I don’t remember the particulars, but it was over a matter where in general an individual might legitimately sue a company rather than some frivolous scam. I don’t have a cite, but perhaps someone knowledgeable can say if this could indeed be done. Sounds plausible to me if the guy hurt himself in a way where the Corp is arguably responsible. Amounts received on account of a physical injury are generally excluded from income and should generally be deductible by the payor. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sue-yourself/412024/26 "2013-02-20T18:48:34Z")
> [@MrBerious](#): > > I’d love to sue my younger self Only if you’re now a zombie. ---
**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sue-yourself/412024/27 "2013-02-21T03:57:55Z")
Isn’t there also a requirement that lawsuits have to be adversarial, that is there needs to be an actual disagreement that can only be resolved by the court? ---
**Author:** ![Ambrosio\_Spinola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de0a6/32.png) [@Ambrosio\_Spinola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambrosio_Spinola)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sue-yourself/412024/28 "2013-02-21T04:13:37Z")
I was once involved in a case in which a man was a passenger in a vehicle being driven by his wife, who caused a collision that killed her and seriously injured him. In order to collect the insurance proceeds, he sued his wife’s estate; he was also her sole heir and the estate’s representative. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sue-yourself/412024/29 "2013-02-21T05:50:14Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > You might well be able to sue yourself in one capacity suing another. For example, you might be a defendant in a class action suit, but also me a member of the class of plaintiffs. An example where it might make sense to do so is if you have insurance coverage for negligence on something and injure yourself. I don’t know if you’d be covered for this but you might be. Isn’t this what happens whenever someone sues their HOA (or vice versa)? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sue-yourself/412024/30 "2013-02-21T08:06:19Z")
Wouldn’t the lawyer representing someone suing himself have a conflict of interests? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sue-yourself/412024/31 "2013-02-21T08:42:00Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > Wouldn’t the lawyer representing someone suing himself have a conflict of interests? That’s easily fixed: you hire a different lawyer in each capacity. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sue-yourself/412024/32 "2013-02-21T09:05:23Z")
But isn’t it an ethical breach for the plaintiff’s attorney to speak to the defendant without the defendant’s attorney present? If so, how could the plaintiff’s attorney discuss confidential strategy matters with his client without also tipping off the defense? ---
**Author:** ![monkeytail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@monkeytail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monkeytail)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sue-yourself/412024/33 "2013-02-21T09:26:58Z")
How about a case of split personality disorder? Here’s this person who has two identities within himself. Now one personality, say Joe is angry with the other one, say Mark for burning his house down or something serious like that. So Joe now wants to sue Mark. Now note, they are two completely different personalities who have their own identity and names and characteristics, etc etc. The only glitch is that they share a body! I’m pretty sure no constitution on this planet specifically establishes a link between a personality and a body… it just assumes that an “individual” is one body with one personality. Using this argument, I think you could be able to make a case against the yourself in the sense: The same “biological human body” is filing suit against itself. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sue-yourself/412024/34 "2013-02-21T10:10:20Z")
John Fogerty of _Creedence Clearwater Revival_ fame was sued by Fantasy Records and its boss Saul Zaentz who claimed that Fogerty’s 1985 song _Old Man Down the Road_ was plagiarised from _Run Through the Jungle_. Fogerty had written that song while with CCR and then sold the rights to his old material to Fantasy. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sue-yourself/412024/35 "2013-02-21T16:04:32Z")
There is a whole class of litigation called _first party_ claims which theoretically consists of lawsuits against oneself. In practice, however, you’re really suing your insurance company (you can’t file a first party action if you’re not insured) and the insurer is generally the named defendant. > [@yabob](#): > > I give you Oreste Lodi vs. Oreste Lodi: > > [News, Politics, Sports, Mail & Latest Headlines - AOL.com](http://members.aol.com/schwenkler/wcc/lodi.htm) > > I leave it to the legal types to explain that nonsense. It appears that the individual involved was hoping to avoid taxes. That’s pretty much it. Mr. Lodi came up with the idea that by transferring the rights to the proceeds of a fictional trust from himself to himself he could avoid paying wealth and property taxes. Since the trust didn’t exist, there was no cause of action for the court to consider; they can’t rule on a hypothetical issue. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sue-yourself/412024/36 "2013-02-21T16:14:40Z")
> [@kitemaker\_chuck](#): > > I guess anything can happen nowadays. cite? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sue-yourself/412024/37 "2013-02-21T16:15:38Z")
Well, the US has a black president. Bet you didn’t see that coming. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sue-yourself/412024/38 "2013-02-21T18:30:55Z")
That’s just a single data point - historically speaking, the percentage of things that can happen has always been between 10 and 15 per cent. I mean, sure, it’s not like we’re back in the 18th century when only about 5 per cent of things could happen, but we also clearly left the 1980s (during which almost 20 per cent of things could actually happen) behind us. I think the OP is wildly overstated. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sue-yourself/412024/39 "2013-02-21T18:32:29Z")
I might have to steal that whole paragraph for future use. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sue-yourself/412024/40 "2013-03-08T16:31:26Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > That’s just a single data point - historically speaking, the percentage of things that can happen has always been between 10 and 15 per cent. I mean, sure, it’s not like we’re back in the 18th century when only about 5 per cent of things could happen, but we also clearly left the 1980s (during which almost 20 per cent of things could actually happen) behind us. I think the OP is wildly overstated. cite? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sue-yourself/412024.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sue-yourself/412024.md?page=3)