-1

Either in USA California or in India (choose whichever you like) can a person sue oneself back for damages? Has anyone ever defamed themselves and then sued themselves for defamation?

Libra
  • 6,448
  • 4
  • 26
  • 49
protectgoodlivingbeingask
  • 353
  • 4
  • 17

2 Answers2

4

https://www.mwl-law.com/how-to-sue-yourself-and-win/

Yes, and there can be cases this is profitable.

  1. You negligently killed someone in a car accident.

  2. You need to sue yourself to use your insurance.

  3. The victim is dead so their estate goes to you.

  4. So you sue yourself on the estates behalf, the estate wins, and you get the estate.

Directly suing yourself is impossible however.

  • I read the linked article - and am still confused :) – Hagen von Eitzen Nov 21 '20 at 22:46
  • Basically, if you inherit a estate you can be 2 people at once –  Nov 21 '20 at 23:58
  • 4
    This would not be suing yourself; it would be the estate suing you -- similar to Facebook suing Mark Zuckerberg. – bdb484 Nov 22 '20 at 06:07
  • Yes, correct. Otherwise is impossible. –  Nov 22 '20 at 07:23
  • 1
    @bdb484 All suits must be brought by and against recognized legal entities, and an estate is not a legal entity in this case/jurisdiction. The executor of the estate is the legal entity. – zibadawa timmy Nov 22 '20 at 07:26
  • 1
    Which jurisdiction are you talking about? – bdb484 Nov 22 '20 at 07:42
  • @bdb484 The case this answer provides a link to. – zibadawa timmy Nov 22 '20 at 07:46
  • 1
    Utah? What makes you think an estate is not a legal entity in Utah? The IRS treats them as legal entities throughout the United States. – bdb484 Nov 22 '20 at 08:13
  • @bdb484 Utah is a different jurisdiction from the federal government for one. And the IRS is not the judiciary and has different rules for two. Estates, in and of themselves, can't be sued in Florida, either and federal district courts have upheld the general principle that estates are not legal entities that can participate in litigation (see quotes and their references in prior link). It is the representatives of estates who participate. – zibadawa timmy Nov 22 '20 at 10:53
  • 1
    I see what you're saying. But even then, do you actually have anyone suing anyone? You just have people coming into an existing probate-court proceeding and asserting their position. And even when you actually sue the administrator, it's more like an official-capacity 1983 claim -- the person's name is on the case, but they aren't really responsible for defending and aren't going to be the one to pay any damages. – bdb484 Nov 22 '20 at 19:10
  • @bdb484 It's a bit of a legal fiction/technicality, yes. As my prior link also indicates, courts have ruled that plaintiffs should be given a reasonable opportunity to fix their filings when they mistakenly try to sue an estate directly, rather than the representative. But it's good to get it straight the first time around just to avoid the costs of having to appeal on a technical matter before the case even gets anywhere. So on a colloquial, every-man level, yes, you're suing or being sued by the estate and we all know what you mean by that. But on a technical legal level, you are not. – zibadawa timmy Nov 23 '20 at 06:29
  • Conceptually, this answer is on the right track, but wrong in important details. (1) Wrongful death actions are generally vested in next of kin, rather than a probate estate, (2) insurance policies have provisions that partially address this possibility, (3) the person at fault would probably be disqualified by the court from being the person controlling the wrongful death action, and (4) this is really two people and not one it isn't truly suing yourself. – ohwilleke Nov 23 '20 at 19:35
1

You cannot sue yourself, although sometimes related entities or parties can sue each other.

ohwilleke
  • 211,353
  • 14
  • 403
  • 716