# Lawsuits related to (mistaken) Judgement Day **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 15, 2011, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawsuits-related-to-mistaken-judgement-day/578548 "2011-04-15T22:23:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawsuits-related-to-mistaken-judgement-day/578548/1 "2011-04-15T22:23:24Z")
I asked a question quite some time ago about whether someone could sue to get money back from someone that they gave money to in a mistaken belief that Judgement Day (the christian one) was coming. Now I have a variation on that question. Pick your jurisdiction; I don’t believe in that nonsense anyway. Seems quite a few people are running around believing that this coming May 21 is Judgement Day, with October 21 being the end of the world as a result of this [dude’s](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-preacher-warns-end-of-the-world-is-nigh-21-may-around-6pm-to-be-precise-2254139.html) preaching (google “May 21” if you want lots of links about this). If somebody believed this dude enough that they sold or gave away almost all of their possessions (gotta leave some $ for the legal fees 😃 ), could they sue him \*\*successfully \*\*on the basis that it is his fault they they are destitute when May 22 rolls around? Note that this time around I am not asking if they could recover their property from the people they sold/gave it to; I am asking whether they could sue Harold Camping for being wrong about Judgement Day and thus causing them to dispose of their possessions? ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawsuits-related-to-mistaken-judgement-day/578548/2 "2011-04-16T01:53:43Z")
I ain’t no lawyer, but my understanding is that (in the US, anyhow), they certainly could sue him. The question is whether the suit would be successful, and that would presumably depend on exactly what the wording was surrounding the “donation.” My guess is that a doom-predicting dude who asks for money has probably talked to a team of lawyers to cover the [unexpected] contingency that the world doesn’t end. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawsuits-related-to-mistaken-judgement-day/578548/3 "2011-04-16T03:03:59Z")
Can we sue what’s her name that claimed municipal bonds were going to crash if they don’t? ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawsuits-related-to-mistaken-judgement-day/578548/4 "2011-04-16T20:30:00Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > I ain’t no lawyer, but my understanding is that (in the US, anyhow), they certainly could sue him. The question is whether the suit would be successful, and that would presumably depend on exactly what the wording was surrounding the “donation.” My guess is that a doom-predicting dude who asks for money has probably talked to a team of lawyers to cover the [unexpected] contingency that the world doesn’t end. Your answer is a bit more relevant to my first question from quite some time ago, not my current question. I am not assuming that their possessions were donated to Camping, just that their belief in his prophecy caused them to dispose of their worldly goods (gave them to charity, left them on the curb, burned them, or whatever). I guess my question amounts to - can you successfully sue someone because you believed in a prophecy that they made, assuming that there is no ambiguity about the prophecy (he seems to be quite specific about May 21). ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawsuits-related-to-mistaken-judgement-day/578548/5 "2011-04-16T20:41:26Z")
There’s no way you could successfully sue someone for making an incorrect prediction. If I say that the Browns will win the next Superbowl and you bet your house on it, then you’re an idiot.