The lawsuit provided some interesting, and hilarious, reading, to be sure, but Shawnee County District Court Judge Franklin R. Theis did the right thing earlier this month when he dismissed the case and ended the frivolity.

We’re referring here to a lawsuit filed by convicted felon Jesse Dimmick against a couple he kidnapped in 2009 in southwest Shawnee County as he was fleeing law enforcement officers intent on returning him to Colorado, where he faces a murder charge.

Dimmick filed his lawsuit on Oct. 21, 2011. That it survived as long as it did probably can be attributed to the fact Shawnee County District Court judges are busy people and Theis couldn’t get to it any sooner.

We’re pretty sure the judge didn’t have to waste much time weighing the pros and cons of Dimmick’s claim against his kidnapping victims, Jared and Lindsay Rowley.

Dimmick contended the Rowleys breached a “legally binding oral contract” to hide him in exchange for money.

What the Rowleys did was make the intruder comfortable enough in their home, after he forced his way in, that he fell asleep after eating and watching a movie. Being intelligent people, they seized the opportunity to leave the residence, which then was entered by law enforcement officers who took Dimmick into custody. He subsequently was convicted on two counts of kidnapping in connection with the escapade.

The Rowleys later filed a lawsuit against Dimmick, seeking damages in excess of $75,000, for trespass, intrusion and negligent infliction of emotional distress. In response to that lawsuit, Dimmick filed his breach of contract fantasy seeking $235,000.

It doesn’t take a trained legal mind to realize the kidnapper’s case didn’t stand a chance from the outset. But for those who enjoy the benefit of such expertise, we’ll note the trained legal mind of attorney Robert F. Keeshan, who is representing the Rowleys in their case against Dimmick, says hiding a fugitive is illegal and can’t be the basis for a legal contract. He also says any agreement between the kidnapper and his victims wouldn’t be legally binding because it would have been made while the victims were under duress.

Who knows? Perhaps Dimmick had too much time on his hands while awaiting trials on other cases he is involved in, civil and criminal, and just decided to have some fun. He did file the case himself and was acting as his own attorney.

In addition to the Rowleys’ case against him, Dimmick is suing the city of Topeka and police officer Guy Gardner for damages in excess of $75,000. Gardner’s rifle accidently discharged during the arrest and Dimmick was shot in the back. Dimmick also faces a murder charge in connection with a September 2009 slaying in Brighton, Colo.

How much success Dimmick has in those cases is yet to be determined, but his case against the Rowleys did earn him some distinction.

The case was voted the most ridiculous lawsuit of 2011 by readers of the Faces of Lawsuit Abuse website. There’s a group of people who know a frivolous lawsuit when they see one.

Members of The Capital-Journal Editorial Board are Gregg Ireland, Mike Hall, Fred Johnson, Ray Beers Jr., Garry Cushinberry, Joyce Martin, John Stauffer, Frank Ybarra and Sally Zellers.