The Volokh Conspiracy
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Vexatious Litigant vs. Linda Sarsour
Allegedly being "a plain, ill-dressed woman" who "indulges in coquettish vanity"? Oddly enough, not legally actionable.
Monday, the Illinois Appellate Court held that Abdul Mohammed should be declared a vexatious litigant, and enjoined from filing various lawsuits related to some frivolous claims that he had already covered; here's an excerpt:
We further note that the Will County complaint is rife with personal attacks and grievances. For instance, plaintiff alleged that Linda Sarsour, a co-founder of another named defendant, the Women's March, Inc., met with other defendants and thereafter unleashed "her Feminist Hate" upon him. Plaintiff described Sarsour as an "out and out Feminist Hate Monger and a Radical Islamic Extremist" and a "rabid dog in human form."
It is not clear from plaintiff's complaint what, if anything, Sarsour did to him personally. He alleged that she appeared at ICNA events, and he concluded that she conspired to sabotage his divorce proceedings; he does not explain how.
Other than that, he simply seems to not like her. He ended his jeremiad against Sarsour by calling her "a plain, ill-dressed woman in a lumbering hijab," who "indulges in coquettish vanity," and by asserting that his Will County suit "should bring Defendant Sarsour back on [sic] earth with a big thud." Such allegations strain the imagination to uncover a proper purpose.
"We remind plaintiff that Illinois courts are not meant as instruments for personal vendettas. They are stewards of the law, managing large dockets involving serious disputes. When a litigant abuses the court system to harass or vex others, the results are an injustice to the other parties and a waste of judicial resources."
