Dry cleaner wins missing pants case

[jimnysf]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 11:50am

There is justice after all!

WASHINGTON - A judge ruled Monday in favor of a dry cleaner that was sued for $54 million over a missing pair of pants.

The owners of Custom Cleaners did not violate the city's consumer protection law by failing to live up to Roy L. Pearson's expectations of the "Satisfaction Guaranteed" sign once displayed in the store window, District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff ruled.

"A reasonable consumer would not interpret 'Satisfaction Guaranteed' to mean that a merchant is required to satisfy a customer's unreasonable demands" or to agree to demands that the merchant would have reasonable grounds for disputing, the judge wrote.

Bartnoff ordered Pearson to pay the court costs of defendants Soo Chung, Jin Nam Chung and Ki Y. Chung.

Pearson, an administrative law judge, originally sought $67 million from the Chungs, claiming they lost a pair of trousers from a blue and maroon suit, then tried to give him a pair a pair of charcoal gray pants that he said were not his. He arrived at the amount by adding up years of alleged law violations and almost $2 million in common law fraud claims.

Bartnoff wrote, however, that Pearson failed to prove that the pants the dry cleaner tried to return were not the pants he took in for alterations.

Pearson later dropped demands for damages related to the pants and focused his claims on signs in the shop, which have since been removed.

The court costs amount to just over $1,000 for photocopying, filing and similar expenses, according to the Chungs' attorney. A motion to recover the Chungs' tens of thousands of dollars in attorney fees will be considered later.

Chris Manning, the Chungs' attorney, praised the ruling, which followed a two-day trial earlier this month.

"Judge Bartnoff has spoken loudly in suggesting that, while consumers should be protected, abusive lawsuits like this will not be tolerated," Manning said in a statement. "Judge Bartnoff has chosen common sense and reasonableness over irrationality and unbridled venom."

Pearson did not immediately respond to a call and an e-mail seeking comment.


Story

[Unknown User]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 11:51am

Can't this lawyer be disbarred? This was ridiculous.

[Kringas]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 11:52am

I hope they'll be able to recover their attorney fees, too.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 11:53am

This wasn't the first time this particular lawyer pulled such a stunt. I'm so glad the judge ruled in favor of the dry cleaners. That guy was pitiful, even crying on the stand about his "lost" pants (which had been found anyway). What a pathetic piece of ****!

The Washington Post has a more detailed story:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/25/AR2007062500443.html?hpid=topnews

Updated On: 6/25/07 at 11:53 AM

[tazber]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 12:06pm

I'm so happy for the defendant. That lawyer is an idiot. I hop he jas to pay ALL their court cousts, lawyer fees included.

How this even made it to trial is still a mystery to me. Such a blatant tort.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 12:15pm

Pearson should now be sued for wasting tax payers money and tying up the legal system with frivolous lawsuits. Make an example of this pig!

[Weez]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 12:58pm

My faith in human nature is slightly restored!

Now, if only the High Court over here would throw out that RIDICULOUS Silver Ring Thing case that's taking up my taxpayer pounds right now...

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 1:11pm

Fantastic!

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 1:12pm

"claiming they lost a pair of trousers from a blue and maroon suit, then tried to give him a pair a pair of charcoal gray pants that he said were not his."

Blue and maroon? Yikes, it sounds like they were doing him a favor!

[Magdalene]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 1:59pm

Thank God for a jusge with some common sense!!!!

[SorryGrateful]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 2:03pm

Yay! I have been following this case with interest and disgust. I'm so glad there is still a little bit of common sense in this country.

[mominator]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 3:27pm

Magdalene, said it perfectly "Thank God for a judge with some common sense!!!!"

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 4:00pm

What gets to me though is this idiot expected millions had the judge ruled in his favor, yet he supposedly can't come up with the money to pay the court fees, etc. because he lost. He should never have been able to proceed if such was the case. I'm glad he has been made a fool of. Hopefully he'll crawl under a rock and never be heard from again.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 4:22pm

c'mon, it's dc. chances are he'll run for mayor. and win.

[MotorTink]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 4:24pm

Or write some type of book that will sky rocket to the best seller list

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 4:25pm

Papa, I know!! Heaven forbid. Everytime I see Marion Barry on television, I can't believe people actually voted him for Mayor. Talk about another joke.

[Yelliphant]

Posted: 6/26/07 at 12:13am

For once the good guy wins.

[DG]

Posted: 6/26/07 at 2:51am

"I can't believe people actually voted him for Mayor"

TWICE!!!

I seriously hope there's follow-up to this, and that he is made to pay the consequences of his ridiculous action.

And it would be wonderful, however unlikely, if this situation caused someone somewhere to start to question the insane condition of our court system.

[Julian2]

Posted: 6/26/07 at 4:07am

Yes! I heard about this a while ago, and I am so glad they won. Stupid stupid court system.

[keen on kean]

Posted: 6/26/07 at 9:53am

The good news - the plaintiff/administrative law judge is up for a ten year extension of his current term. Let's hope he gets booted out instead. He is a disgrace to the legal system and should be disbarred as well, but probably won't be.

[What Lola Wants]

Posted: 6/26/07 at 4:30pm

And don't forget that Marion Barry was then elected as a council member after being mayor. And has since been arrested countless times for being asleep in his car (by his old pick up spot for drugs), stopped for suspicion of driving under the influence countless times and arrested for not paying his taxes more than once.

[Anakela]

Posted: 7/13/07 at 3:50pm

He's back...the dude with the $54 million pair of pants is back in court, still with the pants case, saying that the judge committed a "fundamental legal error" and so he wants his case reinstated.

Ok, how is this guy still an administrative law judge is my question- don't they disbar you for being a dumbass?

Roy Pearson isn't giving up his legal battle against the dry-cleaning business that he says lost a pair of his pants. Now he is asking the judge who ruled against him to reconsider his $54 million lawsuit.

Pearson filed papers late Tuesday urging D.C. Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff to take another look at his case against Custom Cleaners. Bartnoff rejected his claims June 26, saying that Pearson had not shown that the Northeast Washington shop violated the city's consumer protection laws.

Pearson's filing said that Bartnoff should have placed more significance on the "Satisfaction Guaranteed" sign posted at the store. The business's owners, Soo and Jin Chung, are asking Bartnoff to order Pearson to pay $83,000 in legal fees. Pearson, an administrative law judge, could still take the matter to the D.C. Court of Appeals.

Plaintiff Asks Judge To Reconsider Lawsuit

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 7/13/07 at 3:53pm

Lock him up and throw away the key. Can't wait to see how this one turns out.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 7/13/07 at 3:55pm

if and when dc gets a senate seat, this guy will ride those pants right into the capitol building.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 7/13/07 at 7:35pm

Anakela you must get news late.....that news is a week or more old.