Brown Eyeball Defense

We lawyers spend a lot of time making sure that our pleadings satisfy all of the rules and protect our clients' interests from every direction. Sometimes it takes a pro se party, however, to cut to the chase and say what we all wish we could say.
One of my favorites is
Wheat v. Eakin, 491 So.2d 523 (Miss. 1986).
In that case, the defendant filed a handwritten document with the clerk’s office after he was served with the complaint. The clerk entered a default and the court granted default judgment on the ground that the plaintiff failed to plead or otherwise defend the action. The Mississippi Supreme Court reversed, holding that the clerk should not have entered the default because the plaintiff’s handwritten filing at least made
an indicia of defense or denial of the allegations in the complaint.
What did the handwritten note say? The Court acknowledged that “
the form and language of the appellant's response are less than desirable and more frank than customary,� but was nonetheless sufficient. Apparently for that reason, the Court attached the handwritten filing as an exhibit. Here it is:
Not only do I deny all of the allegations in the above styled suit, I contend, with all due respect, that the plaintiff must be suffering from a condition of brown eyeballs since he is full of so much bullshit.
Respectfully yours,
John Wheat

Posted on 3:43 AM by
Susan McDonald