The case of the ‘mongrel Mercedes’
August 26, 2008
U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus is at it again.
Earlier this month, Titus seized upon the train theme in a case of alleged racial discrimination to narrate its procedural history.
Last week, the Greenbelt judge likened a Bethesda physical therapist’s allegations that she was sold a “mongrel” Mercedes Benz (PDF) — one pieced together from “leftover spare parts” — to the “Psycho-Billy Cadillac” in Johnny Cash’s ballad about a similar stitch-up job, “One Piece at a Time.”
While Cash’s character was tickled by the success of his caper, Dr. Pepi Schafler was not happy with her “abomination of a car.” In her multi-count complaint filed July 15 against the dealer and various other parties, she alleges the passenger seat’s manual controls “look to be 50 years old,” the dashboard controls are “pretend,” and the car doors are “odd and bizarre.”
After Titus dismissed the case sua sponte for lack of complete diversity two weeks later, Schafler, who claims to have earned a J.D., sought reconsideration, arguing the judge acted beyond his powers.
“However, Plaintiff’s version of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, like her car, is missing some crucial parts,” Titus wrote in a short opinion Wednesday, before pointing out recent revisions to that text.
But if Dr. Schafler’s past litigiousness is any indication, she’s no stranger to such legal wrangling, and I doubt we’ve heard the last from her. As long as the case file doesn’t end up weighing as much as the title paperwork for Cash’s car…
BRENDAN KEARNEY, Legal Affairs Writer
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