Anti-LGBT Activist Appeals ATS Lawsuit That He Won

As previously reported, earlier this week a Massachusetts federal district court dismissed an Alien Tort Statute lawsuit against activist Scott Lively who was sued over his conduct in Uganda helping anti-LGBT activists there.  The court held that there had been insufficient conduct in the United States to support a suit under the ATS.  However the court's opinion harshly criticized Lively's actions, calling them crimes against humanity. Now, in an unusual move, Lively has filed an appeal even though the suit against him was dismissed.  The Notice of Appeal (full text) in Sexual Minorities Uganda v. Lively, (D MA, filed 6/8/2017), says appellant seeks removal from the court's order of "certain extraneous but prejudicial language immaterial to the disposition of the case and which the district court had no jurisdiction to entertain or enter." It also seeks to have supplemental state law claims which the district court dismissed without prejudice to instead be dismissed with prejudice so they cannot be refiled in state court. Liberty Counsel, representing Lively, issued a press release announcing the appeal and describing their objections to the district court's Order:

Judge Ponsor improperly littered his Order with a prolonged tirade against Lively, badly distorting his Christian views and activism, and insulting him with such unbecoming epithets as “crackpot bigot[],” “pathetic,” “ludicrous,” “abhorrent” and numerous others.