'Patrick Ewing of Suing' sues Guinness, refuses world title
SPOKANE, Wash. -- A notoriously litigious man is turning to what he knows best to stop the Guinness Book of World Records from naming him as the new world record setter for the number of suits filed by an individual in the history of mankind.
Jonathan Riches, also known as Irving Picard, claims Guinness plans to print his personal information, which would cause him "imminent danger and bodily harm," according to an injunction he filed earlier this week with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.
Riches, an inmate at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky who hand-writes his complaints, said the editors of the record book have already begun slandering his name by calling him "the Litigator Crusader," "Duke of Lawsuits," "Jonny Sue-Nami," "Sue-per-man," "the Patrick Ewing of Sung" and "the Lawsuit Zeus," causing him "grief and mental breakdowns," the document said.
Guinness' plans to publish his name and record in its 2010 edition, Riches said, would further invade his privacy. The defendant added that the record book's count of his past lawsuits as printed on a congratulatory letter he received is false. He said they add up to more than 4,000 worldwide.
"I've filed so many lawsuits with my pen and right hand that I got arthritis in my fingers, numbness in my wrists, crooked fingers. I got bags under my eyes for (sic) sleepless nights suing the world," he wrote in his injunction. "I eat, sleep and think lawsuits. I flush out more suits then (sic) a sewer."
Riches' legal history includes suits filed against Michael Vick for "theft and abuse of my animals;" Viagra, Cialis and Levitra for offensive advertisements; Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols for "blowing up my life" by failing to notify Riches about the alleged "injustice" within the Department of Justice; Katie Couric and CBS Evening News for "watching me to boost ratings;" and Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib Prison for "holding my life hostage" and conspiring to "kidnap my mind," according to court documents.
Riches, who was incarcerated after being convicted of wire fraud, said he's thinking about retiring from filing lawsuits to give his hand a rest.
Riches said he plans to be in a halfway house by next summer, and after he is released from prison, he'll teach a class called "Lawsuit 101" in which he'll "teach Americans how to file prose lawsuits," the injunction said. Riches said he also plans to sell self-promoting T-shirts that read "'watch what you do or I'll sue you' with my face in the middle, pointing."
Jonathan Riches, also known as Irving Picard, claims Guinness plans to print his personal information, which would cause him "imminent danger and bodily harm," according to an injunction he filed earlier this week with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.
Riches, an inmate at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky who hand-writes his complaints, said the editors of the record book have already begun slandering his name by calling him "the Litigator Crusader," "Duke of Lawsuits," "Jonny Sue-Nami," "Sue-per-man," "the Patrick Ewing of Sung" and "the Lawsuit Zeus," causing him "grief and mental breakdowns," the document said.
Guinness' plans to publish his name and record in its 2010 edition, Riches said, would further invade his privacy. The defendant added that the record book's count of his past lawsuits as printed on a congratulatory letter he received is false. He said they add up to more than 4,000 worldwide.
"I've filed so many lawsuits with my pen and right hand that I got arthritis in my fingers, numbness in my wrists, crooked fingers. I got bags under my eyes for (sic) sleepless nights suing the world," he wrote in his injunction. "I eat, sleep and think lawsuits. I flush out more suits then (sic) a sewer."
Riches' legal history includes suits filed against Michael Vick for "theft and abuse of my animals;" Viagra, Cialis and Levitra for offensive advertisements; Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols for "blowing up my life" by failing to notify Riches about the alleged "injustice" within the Department of Justice; Katie Couric and CBS Evening News for "watching me to boost ratings;" and Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib Prison for "holding my life hostage" and conspiring to "kidnap my mind," according to court documents.
Riches, who was incarcerated after being convicted of wire fraud, said he's thinking about retiring from filing lawsuits to give his hand a rest.
Riches said he plans to be in a halfway house by next summer, and after he is released from prison, he'll teach a class called "Lawsuit 101" in which he'll "teach Americans how to file prose lawsuits," the injunction said. Riches said he also plans to sell self-promoting T-shirts that read "'watch what you do or I'll sue you' with my face in the middle, pointing."