On Feb. 9, Michael Ellis went to the Kanawha Circuit Clerk’s Office to file a complaint against the West Virginia Human Rights Commission, according to a complaint filed in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Elllis claims Juanita Bradshaw, a clerk in the office, was assisting him in filing the civil case information statement.
“As I was filling out the statement I put Atn. Mary Kay Jacquet under the Human Rights address so the director could receive delivery of the summons,” Ellis wrote in his complaint. “Ms. Bradshaw informed me I should put Mary Kay Jacquet above the Human Rights address and she took that info statement and gave me another.”
Ellis claims he informed Bradshaw that if he did as she suggested, which was to add an ampersand before Jacquet’s name, he would be including her as a defendant, which he did not want to do.
Bradshaw took all of Ellis’ documents to date stamp them and, while he was out of sight, she inserted the ampersand into the lawsuit, making it to appear as though Jacquet was a defendant, according to the suit.
Ellis claims Bradshaw’s actions were an act of intentional fraud and a violation of his 14th Amendment rights.
Ellis is seeking monetary compensation for the unnecessary undue hardship he sustained. He is representing himself.
The case is assigned to Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 17-C-361