Inherent Power Reaches Beyond the Pale

Huang v. Hanks, No. C084702 (D3 May 10, 2018)

Plaintiff, who is apparently mentally ill, has sought civil harassment restraining orders against, inter alios, Tom Hanks, Monica Lewinski, and the Dali Lama. The trial court denied the applications and threw out the claims as patently frivolous. While there’s no statute that specifically authorizes a court to dismiss cases that are facially ludicrous, the court here holds the trial court had the inherent power to do so. And, for that matter, the appeal is frivolous too, given that the Plaintiff’s assertions of error have no support at all in the record.

Affirmed.