Lawyer sues dry cleaners for $67M after trousers lost

[babylonsister]

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=nation_world&id=5264932

Lawyer sues dry cleaners for $67M after trousers lost
ABCNews JIM AVILA & MARY HARRIS

(5/02/07) - A Washington, D.C., dry cleaners says it's their business a longtime customer is taking to the cleaners.


A $10 dry cleaning bill for a pair of trousers has ballooned into a $67 million civil lawsuit.

Plaintiff Roy Pearson, a judge in Washington, D.C., says in court papers that he's been through the ringer over a lost pair of prized pants he wanted to wear on his first day on the bench.

He says in court papers that he has endured "mental suffering, inconvenience and discomfort."

He says he was unable to wear that favorite suit on his first day of work.

He's suing for 10 years of weekend car rentals so he can transport his dry cleaning to another store.

:shrug:

more...

[Richard Steele]

1. And this shithead was made a JUDGE? That's scary. nm

[sinkingfeeling]

13. Must be one of those GOP judges always wanting to rein in all those frivolous law suits.

I saw this story aired a on national ABC about 3:50AM CDT this morning. I then couldn't go back to sleep.

[Richard Steele]

14. I have little doubt! nm

[JHB]

23. Unfortunately, proabably not

Biography
Roy L. Pearson, Jr.
Administrative Law Judge

Roy L. Pearson, Jr. began serving as an Administrative Law Judge for the District of Columbia Office of Administrative Hearings on May 2, 2005. Before his appointment he served for two years as a contract hearing examiner for the DC Office of Police Complaints.

Judge Pearson was an attorney with the Neighborhood Legal Services Program (“NLSP”) from July 1978 through July 2002; the last 13 years as the Assistant Director for Legal Operations. In the latter capacity Judge Pearson was responsible for training and supervising a legal and support staff of 20-60 persons in neighborhood offices throughout the District of Columbia. NLSP provides civil legal assistance to indigent residents of the District of Columbia. During his tenure with NLSP Judge Pearson obtained jury verdicts in excess of $1 million dollars in both the DC Superior Court and the US District Court for the District of Columbia. His landmark Superior Court verdict of $15.9 million for nine clients was settled, after partial reversal and remand, on confidential terms.

Judge Pearson has been active in the Washington, DC community for decades and has served as counsel or board member for such organizations as the Columbia Heights Youth Club, the Fort Lincoln Civic Association, Inc., Black Seeds, Inc., the Washington Council of Lawyers, and the DC chapter of the National Council of Black Lawyers.

Judge Pearson earned his undergraduate degree from Lake Forest College. He earned his JD from Northwestern University School of Law. After graduation, he was first a graduate teaching fellow, and then assistant director, of a clinical program at the Georgetown University School of Law. The clinical program provided legal research, policy analysis and drafting assistance to committees of the Council of the District of Columbia, to the Mayor, and to various District of Columbia agencies. Judge Pearson has been a member of the District of Columbia Bar since 1978, and of the US Supreme Court Bar since 1985.
http://oah.dc.gov/oah/cwp/view,A,3,Q,604474.asp


But he's certainly "theirs" in the "what an arrogant, petty, vindictive asshole" department.

[librechik]

36. I looked him up and he contributed to Georg Allen's campaign in VA

Nice huh, for an African American lawyer...

(if it's the same Roy Pearson)

[Warpy]

2. This will either be laughed out of court

or he will be awarded the fair market value of used trousers.

Talk about a warped sense of entitlement. Pearson has just got to be GOP.

[deadmessengers]

3. And people wonder why the American public has such a low opinion of lawyers...

[dysfunctional press]

40. he's a fucking JUDGE.

i hope HE'S made to pay something.

[The Stranger]

49. No -- no one wonders -- they know it is because of corporate media propaganda.

And the rubes who believe one sensationalist assertion does a whole profession make.

[Selatius]

4. Somebody's pants are on fire.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

5. this judge should be impeached and then disbarred

what a waste of civil court resources...

sP

[Beelzebud]

7. Agreed.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

10. my favorite part...

The ABC News Law & Justice Unit has calculated that for $67 million Pearson could buy 84,115 new pairs of pants at the $800 value he placed on the missing trousers in court documents. If you stacked those pants up, they would be taller than eight Mount Everests. If you laid them side by side, they would stretch for 48 miles.

[gollygee]

9. Yup

this is astounding, and a judge should know better. Well, anyone should know better, but particularly a judge.

[jackstraw45]

6. And some people actually wonder why lawyers are hated....

Simply amazing.

[The Stranger]

50. No -- no one wonders -- they know it is because of corporate media propaganda.

And the rubes who believe that one sensationalist assertion does a whole profession make.

[Buzz Clik]

8. How about we take up a collection, send him $100 for some new pants...

and tell this idiot to shut up already.

"Wah wah wah! You lost my favorite pair of pants."

Talk about arrested emotional development.

[sandnsea]

11. They found his pants

He says they aren't his.

A technicality in the law is allowing this, he's a major asshat for putting the entire judicial system at risk for his own games.

[YOY]

12. Those must be some AWESOME FRICKING PANTS!

FReepers would consider these to be "awesome pants".

[moez]

34. You think anybody wants

a roundhouse kick to the face while I'm wearing these bad boys?

Forget about it.

[htuttle]

39. Ed? Ed Gruberman? Is that you?

[moez]

47. Boot to the Head!

[YOY]

48. Nah nah naa!

n/t

[Hobarticus]

15. And, the inevitable comparison to the McDonald's coffee suit in 3, 2, 1...

MSM will love this, it's distracting.

[Trillo]

16. Shades of My Cousin Vinney and the 1850's suit scene.

All joking aside, I hope the lawyer gets a new pair of pants out of this trouble. If the dry cleaner lost his pants, he should definitely get a replacement pair paid for by them, same brand, size, etc.

[JHB]

25. Read the whole story. They offered him thousands...

...not to mention they found his pants about three weeks later (but he claims they're not his).

This guy has no business being a judge.

[Nikki Stone1]

17. Is this the guy?

http://oah.dc.gov/oah/cwp/view,A,3,Q,604474.asp

[RiverStone]

20. I hope so, if not - he may sue you for false representation!

Gawd, I hope the publicity from this VERY frivolous lawsuit will totally humiliate this so called judge - pants or not!

[Nikki Stone1]

38. I think he should go to the trial without pants. :)

:)

[JHB]

22. Seems to be.

n/t

[Nikki Stone1]

53. If this the guy

then he appears to be African American and the Chungs are Korean. I wonder if there are some racial motives underlying this as these two communities have had a lot animosity under the surface, especially when Koreans own businesses in primarily African American neighborhoods.

[Lurking Dem]

18. I'd like to see these pants.

Considering how big his cajones are.

[DFW]

19. Let's show some respect here

I hear this guy just became Bush's first choice for the
Supreme Court, should an opening occur before he leaves
office (please, ANYthing but that!)

[Little Wing]

21. someone needs to be dropped into the middle of the Pacific

[Tesha]

24. $67 mill? What, did he leave his testicles in his pants and they shrank? (NT)

[mtnester]

29. I don't think there has been a court YET that has awarded that much

for even a pair of testicles.

:)

[BlooInBloo]

26. Aaahh... nothing like the sweet smell of Abuse of Power!

[prole_for_peace]

27. that must be a great pair of pants....

being worth $67M for "mental suffering, inconvenience and discomfort"

[DFW]

32. If $67 million is a legit price for mental suffering and discomfort for pants

Then Bush and Cheney owe me the GNP of China

[BoneDaddy]

28. Give me a break

Tough shit!... the dry cleaner's owe him his pants, that is all.

Mental suffering...how pathetic.

[frylock]

30. fuck this asshole!!!

I hope he meets with some karmic justice, tout de fucking suite.

"It's affecting us first of all financially, because of all the lawyers' fees," Jin Chung said. "For two years, we've been paying lawyer fees. & We've gotten bad credit as well, and secondly, it's been difficult mentally and physically because of the level of stress."

<snip>

He brought one pair in for alterations and they went missing -- gray trousers with what Pearson described in court papers as blue and red stripes on them.

First, Pearson demanded $1,150 for a new suit. Lawyers were hired, legal wrangling ensued and eventually the Chungs offered Pearson $3,000 in compensation.

No dice.

Then they offered him $4,600.

No dice.

Finally, they offered $12,000 for the missing gray trousers with the red and blue stripes.

Pearson said no.

With neither satisfaction nor his prized gray pants, Pearson upped the ante considerably.

The judge went to the lawbooks. Citing the District of Columbia's consumer protection laws, he claims he is entitled to $1,500 per violation.

Per day.

[Richard Steele]

33. Seems clear he's just doing this to harrass them at this point.

No way in hell does this shithead belong on the bench.

[kestrel91316]

31. True justice in this case would consist of:

1) Pearson's case being thrown out as frivolous, or summary judgement in favor of the Chung's (they FOUND the frickin' "lost" pants quickly)

2) Chungs file their own lawsuit against Pearson for abuse of the legal system/malicious prosecution; they win; they are awarded court costs, attorney's fees, and substantial actual and punitive damages

3) Chungs file a complaint with the bar; Pearson gets fired from his bench and disbarred

4) Chungs buy Pearson's house when he is forced to sell it to pay all HIS legal bills; they live happily ever after; he winds up homeless

IMHO.

[librechik]

35. Let me guess: Republican, right? Because frivolous lawsuits are so wrong.

and so are Republicans--

Yep--I just searched Newsmeat and apparently one Roy Pearson of Virginia contribute to none other than Macaca George Allen, Republican.

[ironflange]

37. Pssst. . . somebody tell him. . .

You DUMBASS, judges wear ROBES, so nobody can see your friggin' Men's Warehouse suit anyway!!!

[depakid]

41. He's an administrative law judge. Here's his official page:

http://oah.dc.gov/oah/cwp/view,A,3,Q,604474.asp

Roy L. Pearson, Jr. began serving as an Administrative Law Judge for the District of Columbia Office of Administrative Hearings on May 2, 2005. Before his appointment he served for two years as a contract hearing examiner for the DC Office of Police Complaints.

Judge Pearson was an attorney with the Neighborhood Legal Services Program (“NLSP”) from July 1978 through July 2002; the last 13 years as the Assistant Director for Legal Operations. In the latter capacity Judge Pearson was responsible for training and supervising a legal and support staff of 20-60 persons in neighborhood offices throughout the District of Columbia.

NLSP provides civil legal assistance to indigent residents of the District of Columbia. During his tenure with NLSP Judge Pearson obtained jury verdicts in excess of $1 million dollars in both the DC Superior Court and the US District Court for the District of Columbia. His landmark Superior Court verdict of $15.9 million for nine clients was settled, after partial reversal and remand, on confidential terms.

Judge Pearson has been active in the Washington, DC community for decades and has served as counsel or board member for such organizations as the Columbia Heights Youth Club, the Fort Lincoln Civic Association, Inc., Black Seeds, Inc., the Washington Council of Lawyers, and the DC chapter of the National Council of Black Lawyers.



Judge Pearson earned his undergraduate degree from Lake Forest College. He earned his JD from Northwestern University School of Law. After graduation, he was first a graduate teaching fellow, and then assistant director, of a clinical program at the Georgetown University School of Law. The clinical program provided legal research, policy analysis and drafting assistance to committees of the Council of the District of Columbia, to the Mayor, and to various District of Columbia agencies. Judge Pearson has been a member of the District of Columbia Bar since 1978, and of the US Supreme Court Bar since 1985.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

42. Let me tell you a little story.

I've just had a first-hand introduction to the civil litigation system in the US. You see, three years ago a useless jackass took it upon himself to back up his dump truck over half a mile on a construction site (with no spotter, and the back-up alarm malfunctioning) and in the process ran over and killed my father and another man. I don't want to get into the specifics, but we sued this retard, his employer, and the general contractor on the worksite for effectively creating an extremely dangerous environment which resulted in two people being killed. The figure we settled for was in the (very) low seven figures, and all parties agreed that this was fair, providing my mother with money to live once she retired.

I see a vast, vast gulf between the loss of my father, and the loss this man suffered due to a fucking pair of trousers being lost by the cleaners. It is exactly this kind of shit that gives the right ammunition for "tort reform" which is bullshit-speak for eliminating the rights of normal people to sue those who've harmed them. It is exactly this kind of crap that gives the system a bad name.

It was a pair of pants. Get over it. Move on.

[laylah]

44. I am so very

sorry for your loss :hug: And yes, this idiot should be committed, and the key thrown away. There HAS to be yet another lawyer/judge joke in here somewhere!

[LoZoccolo]

43. Personally, I think he should be committed to a mental institution.

He is clearly a threat to others based on the financial hardship he has caused the Chungs due to what is probably a severe personality disorder, if not some kind of delusional psychosis. I'm actually serious about this. And he should consequently also be declared mentally unfit to serve as a judge.

[karlrschneider]

45. Is he an undocumented child of Clarence Thomas???

And why does he need pants anyway?...won't the robe cover up his...er, briefs?
:eyes:

[tammywammy]

46. What an ass

I hope he ends up paying all the Chung's legal bills plus their own pain and suffering at this point.

And he shouldn't be on the bench either.

[seabeyond]

51. i worked in d.c. i use to think the hardest customer was in restaraunt

i figured it was cause they were hungry or the food didnt come out as they anticipated leading to such ugliness and anger, but i was wrong. i have done customer service most my life in different industries and by far, the most obnoxious, arrogant, demanding, nonflexible customer is at the d.c.

i worked hard to satisfy my customers. one day a reg came in and looking for his order (4 hours earlier than i said it would be ready) me hunting it down to put it together, he says "dont bother, it is only clothes"

it was so reasoned, and so unusual for a customer to be reasonable, it about floored me and had mouth gaping open. lol. i laughed and said, ya... thanks, lol. and got his order for him. but it was the moment that has stuck with me.

[tyedyeto]

52. This happened 10 years ago??

He's suing for 10 years of weekend car rentals so he can transport his dry cleaning to another store.

Had to rent a car to take his cleaning somewhere else?

Talk about a frivolous lawsuit.

[scrinmaster]

54. No, he's suing for 10 years worth of car rentals

so he can take his pants to another dry cleaners.