There are states that have passed anti-SLAPP laws, which specifically penalize frivolous defamation suits. But West Virginia is not one of those states.
Anti-SLAPP needs to be everywhere to prevent this sort of bullshit.
Sweet homes in Alabama:
The whole thing is weird, in an only-in-Alabama sort of way:
A sheriff in Alabama took home as personal profit more than $750,000 that was budgeted to feed jail inmates — and then purchased a $740,000 beach house, a reporter at The Birmingham News found.
And it’s perfectly legal in Alabama, according to state law and local officials.
Alabama has a Depression-era law that allows sheriffs to “keep and retain” unspent money from jail food-provision accounts. Sheriffs across the state take excess money as personal income — and, in the event of a shortfall, are personally liable for covering the gap.
To be fair, we had another economic depression only a few years ago, so it’s cool.
The Black Knight always triumphs (or, I’m not dead yet!):
A Romanian court has rejected a man’s claim that he is alive after his wife officially registered him as dead, saying that the decision cannot be reversed.
A spokeswoman for the court told local news outlets on Friday that the man, Constantin Reliu, 63, lost his case in the northeast city of Vasului because he had appealed too late.
The ruling is final.
Not sure whether to laugh or cry at the ridiculousness of it.
Well, if he is legally dead, then can he be prosecuted for anything?
What’s to stop him killing his (ex?) wife?
No more taxes, that’s got to count for something.
This has also happened in the US.
It’s not as ridiculous as it sounds. When someone is declared dead, property may change hands, debts may be written off, and survivors may receive benefits from insurance companies or Social Security. These events might not be reversible. So while you are still required to obey the law, from a financial perspective it’s not surprising that once you are “dead” you will remain so.
This is like some type of gritty anti-hero story waiting to be written.
“He was dead. To society, he did not exist. Yet for the criminal underworld of Romania, Constantin Reliu was all too real. He is - THE LIVING GHOST!”
The “dead” guy contested the court’s decision using the wrong procedure, his lawyer messed up.
Aren’t there things like death certificates etc required to prove someone is dead?
Yes, but if someone suddenly goes missing and isn’t found after an extended search, a death certificate will be issued. This is reasonable. If I rent a boat to go fishing by myself and perish in a storm, it’s quite possible that my body will never be found. I would want my family to collect whatever benefits are due to them in event of my death.
The case like this one and the US case I linked are not about reasonable people. They are people who are running away from their responsibilities and don’t want to be found. You can’t do something like that, change your mind years later, and expect things to go back to as they were.
Can’t argue with that!
I imagine it doesn’t happen very often but surely there’s a process for reinstating a dead but not dead person.
Or simply issue them a new identity /separate legal entity?
Allow them to keep their identity but relinquish ownership of contested properties/assets?
If by “identity” you mean Social Security number, then there might be a problem. Those numbers are reassigned to new people after someone dies.
According to the SSA that’s not true.
Q20: Are Social Security numbers reused after a person dies?
A: No. We do not reassign a Social Security number (SSN) after the number holder’s death. Even though we have issued over 453 million SSNs so far, and we assign about 5 and one-half million new numbers a year, the current numbering system will provide us with enough new numbers for several generations into the future with no changes in the numbering system.
Huh, TIL! Thanks, RichVR!
This is one of the greatest stories ever told.
The previous one was also pretty good, but I can’t be assed to look for it.
That made me smile!
It just doesn’t work!