A man has won $150,000 in a lawsuit after he sued officials in Kentucky because they denied him a license plate that read 'IM GOD'.

Bennie Hart sued the state of Kentucky in November 2016 after a Department of Vehicles worker refused his request on the grounds that it might distract other drivers, and that plates can't be 'vulgar or obscene'.

Last Monday, a judge ruled that the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) and ACLU-Kentucky attorneys should be compensated for the time spent pursuing case.

It was agreed that the amount obtained by Hart after paying lawyers would be determined privately.

Bennie Hart of Kentucky sued in November 2016 after he applied for a customized license plate that read 'IM GOD' and was denied it. Last Monday, a judge ruled that the Freedom From Religion Foundation and ACLU-Kentucky attorneys should be compensated $150,000 for the case

In November 2019, he was granted permission to get the license plate after the Transportation Cabinet was found to have violated the First Amendment.

'I’m thankful to finally have the same opportunity to select a personal message for my license plate just as any other driver,' Hart said. 'There is nothing inappropriate about my view that religious beliefs are subject to individual interpretation.'

He finally received it a few weeks ago.

'The Commonwealth [of Kentucky] went too far,' the court said. 'To allow such plates as "IM4GOD" and "LUVGOD" but reject "IM GOD" belies viewpoint neutrality.'

'Groups such as ours have to put in a lot of work to ensure the constitutional rights of ordinary folks,' says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor.

'We truly appreciate that the court recognizes this.'

Hart is a Postal Service retiree who is married to his middle school sweetheart.

He was raised in a religious family, he began to question religion as a child but now identifies as an atheist.

Hart previously said that by announcing 'IM GOD' on his license plate, he simply wanted to show the impossibility of disproving anyone's claim to being 'God.'

He had the same plate for a dozen years when he lived in Ohio, without causing any problems

The state had turned him down, saying it would be distracting to drivers

'The Commonwealth [of Kentucky] went too far,' the court said. 'To allow such plates as "IM4GOD" and "LUVGOD" but reject "IM GOD" belies viewpoint neutrality'

He had the same plate for a dozen years when he lived in Ohio, without causing any problems.

Hart sued state Transportation Secretary Greg Thomas on free speech grounds, asking a federal judge in Frankfort to strike down some Kentucky laws and rules for personalized plates.

The Freedom from Religion Foundation said his denial was unconstitutional.