U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit building John Minor Wisdom U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit building, New Orleans. Photo: Rick Kopstein/ALM

A Louisiana attorney who called himself "The God of the Earth Realm," and alleged that defendants tried to monopolize intergalactic foreign trade has lost his appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

The resulting opinion serves as a guide for lower courts who must deal with frivolous, meritless claims. Here, lawyer Edward Moses Jr.'s claims were so frivolous that the government shouldn't be bothered to respond and courts shouldn't be troubled to adjudicate them, said the ruling in Atakapa Indian de Creole Nation v. Louisiana.

"The district court therefore lacked jurisdiction to entertain them," wrote Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan in the opinion, joined by Chief Judge Priscilla Owen and Judge Rhesa Hawkins Barksdale.

Moses, a Baton Rouge solo practitioner, said his case is about sovereignty for his family who are indigenous to the Louisiana region and they take the position that the Louisiana Purchase was invalid. He denied that his claims are frivolous and said he plans to ask the Fifth Circuit to rehear his appeal.

"The court left the gate open and noted that we did make a claim for antitrust against Thompson Reuters, which is important for the case," Moses said. "I pray to God I am capable of fleshing out my arguments for rehearing."

The opinion noted that Moses appears to be the true plaintiff, although he called himself the trustee of the Atakapa Indian de Creole Nation, which isn't a federally recognized Indian tribe.

The district court dismissed the lawsuit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, finding the defendants had sovereign immunity.

"We need not go that far to resolve this appeal," the Fifth Circuit ruled, explaining that some claims are so insubstantial, implausible and devoid of merit that they don't raise to the level of a federal controversy.

For example, the opinion noted, Moses called himself "His Majesty," and "The Christian King de Orleans," among other titles. His claims were "bizarre," said the opinion. He said the Atakapa were held in "pupilage" by the United States and as "wards" of Louisiana. He sought declarations of rights under a 1795 treaty with Spain and an 1800 treaty with France. In an amended complaint, he sought to add defendants including a long list of world leaders from the United States, Canada, France, Germany and more–even the pope.

"The same document also alleges that the United States and Louisiana seek to monopolize 'intergalactic foreign trade,'" the opinion said. "This was no typographical error: the plaintiff continues to argue on appeal that the defendants are attempting to 'monopolize domestic, international and intergalactic commercial markets.'"

The court refused to try to decipher what it meant, noting that the attempt would suggest the arguments had some colorable merit. The judges found nothing that would present a non-frivolous federal question, the ruling said.

"We could say more, but these examples are enough to show the plaintiff's claims are wholly without merit," the opinion said.

Louisiana's attorney, Matthew Block, executive counsel in the Louisiana Office of the Governor, didn't return a call or email seeking comment before deadline. Neither did Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Wharton Vincent, who represented the United States.

The ruling elicited chatter from appellate attorneys on Twitter.