Gene Moran’s lawsuit against his former employer hit a snag four years ago when an Orange County, Calif., judge declared him a vexatious litigant, and ordered him to post a hefty security bond if he wished to proceed.

Rather than give in, Moran, a paralegal in Orange County, went on the offensive in the appellate courts. His perseverance might’ve paid off Monday when his lawyers appeared in the California Supreme Court to argue that the trial judge denied him due process and the right to a jury trial.