In five years, Fort Collins resident Eric Sutherland has represented himself in at least nine lawsuits for pennies on the dollar compared to his taxpayer-funded opponents.

But a recent court ruling could put an end to Sutherland's self-representation.

On March 14, a district court judge ruled Sutherland could no longer file civil lawsuits in Larimer County without first hiring professional legal representation due to misuse and misunderstanding of the legal system.

With the court’s ruling, Sutherland will still be able to file lawsuits, but he will have to be represented by an attorney. If he gets sued, he'll still be able to represent himself.

Sutherland has considered himself a full-time community activist for the last decade and believes he stands up to local government for the people.

In the last few years, he has ramped up his activism by taking a stand against what he calls abuses of the intent of Colorado's urban renewal law.

Taking a stand for Sutherland has meant legal battles with Poudre School District, Thompson School District, the Larimer County Board of Commissioners, the city of Fort Collins and the town of Timnath.

Related: One man delayed several major area projects. One town fought back.

Here's a rundown of 5 of those court cases.

Sutherland challenges the city of Fort Collins

Aug. 22, 2014: Sutherland challenged a ballot question asking the public to extend sales tax to fund the county jail. He represented himself then. In the lawsuit, he said he took issue with what he regarded as grammatical errors and verb tense, claiming the public might get confused. The claim was dismissed when Sutherland failed to secure a $10,000 bond. Bonds, especially in civil cases, help to prevent frivolous claims from tying up the court. The case was dismissed.

Nov. 11, 2014: Sutherland filed a lawsuit against the Larimer Board of County Commissioners. In it, he contested the results of another ballot issue, which asked voters to approve a new sales tax to be used for construction of an animal shelter. He claimed the results conflicted with the Colorado Constitution. The court again ruled Sutherland must put up a $10,000 cash bond to continue. When Sutherland again didn’t post bond, the court dismissed the case.

March 3, 2015: Sutherland filed a lawsuit against the city of Fort Collins. He claimed another ballot question, asking voters to approve a capital improvement tax and to extend a tax to fund the city's Street Maintenance Program, was deficient in a number of ways, one being a missing comma. The court found nothing wrong with the ballot language. The case was dismissed.

Aug. 21, 2017: Sutherland filed a lawsuit against the city of Fort Collins, contesting the ballot language for the broadband proposal approved by City Council. The court ruled in the city’s favor.

June 19, 2018: Sutherland filed a motion to challenge the formation of four special districts, which are intended to fund improvements to the I-25 and Prospect Road interchange. The court ruled in the city’s favor.

July 18, 2018: The judge awarded Fort Collins $9,457.79 in the case of the southwest Prospect I-25 interchange metro district.

Sept. 5, 2018: The judge awarded Fort Collins $376.14 in the case of the I-25 and Prospect interchange metro district (which is separate from the southwest Prospect I-25 interchange metro district).

To date, Sutherland has not made payments. He said he plans to take the case to the Colorado Supreme Court.

More: Is it legal for courts to say you can't represent yourself?

Sutherland challenges Poudre School District

Aug. 15, 2016: Sutherland challenged the language of PSD’s proposed bond and mill levy override, kicking off a lengthy court battle. PSD and Sutherland worked through three cases related to the bond in district court, two filed by PSD and another filed by Sutherland. All rulings were in PSD's favor.

July 5, 2017: Sutherland appealed a judge's decision in one of the cases filed by PSD. Little news about the status of the case was available in the months to follow.

Feb. 1, 2018: The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled in favor of PSD.

March 30, 2018: Sutherland filed an appeal with the Colorado Supreme Court to determine whether the Colorado Court of Appeals mishandled the case, but he filed a day after the deadline.

April 28, 2018: Because he missed the deadline and one page was lacking his signature, Sutherland had to file a petition by May 2 for the court to consider the case anyway. He did so April 28.

Aug. 20, 2018: The Colorado Supreme Court declined to hear his case.

Sutherland challenges Thompson School District

Aug. 29, 2016: Sutherland filed a lawsuit against the Thompson School District. Sutherland contested the language of a ballot question proposed to voters by the district. Among other things, Sutherland claimed the ballot did not adequately discuss Colorado’s Tax Increment Financing system. The case was dismissed on the grounds Sutherland didn’t live in district boundaries.

Sutherland challenges Timnath

April 26, 2018: Sutherland filed a lawsuit against the city of Fort Collins, naming the Timnath Development Authority and Compass Mortgage Corporation as indispensable parties. He claimed Fort Collins and Timnath were improperly issuing debt using tax increment financing.

Sept. 10, 2018: Judge rules against Sutherland and grants a motion to award $43,458.55 in attorneys fees and $2,155 in costs to Timnath Development Authority and Compass Mortgage Corporation for a total of $45,613.55.

Oct. 22, 2018: Sutherland appeals the case.

March 15, 2019: A hearing was held. No decision has been made.

Timnath challenges Sutherland

June 7, 2018: The town of Timnath filed a lawsuit against Sutherland requesting the court remove his right to represent himself in court and repay legal fees and damages.

March 14, 2019: Judge ruled in favor of Timnath, awarding a permanent injunction and $70,613.55. As of June 17, 2019, Sutherland had not yet made payments to Timnath. Timnath's lawyers said the town and TDA have gone forward with collection efforts.