Lawsuits against the Devil
Lawsuits against the devil (or Satan) have occurred in reality and in fiction. Actual suits. "United States ex rel. Gerald Mayo v. Satan and His Staff" was a 1971 case filed before the United States district court for the Western District of Pennsylvania in which Gerald Mayo alleged that "Satan has on numerous occasions caused plaintiff misery and unwarranted threats, against the will of plaintiff, that Satan has placed deliberate obstacles in his path and has caused plaintiff's downfall" and had therefore "deprived him of his constitutional rights". This is prohibited under several sections of  the United States Code. Mayo filed "in forma pauperis"—that is, he asserted that he would not be able to afford the costs associated with his lawsuit and that they therefore should be waived. The Court refused the request to proceed "in forma pauperis" because the plaintiff had not included instructions for how the U.S. Marshal could serve process on Satan.