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  • Judge who sued cleaners has day in court

    An update on the $65 million lawsuit.

    Marc Fisher - Judge Who Seeks Millions for Lost Pants Has His (Emotional) Day in Court - washingtonpost.com

    Judge Who Seeks Millions for Lost Pants Has His (Emotional) Day in Court
    By Marc Fisher
    Wednesday, June 13, 2007;

    Before trial began yesterday in the case of the D.C. judge who sued his neighborhood dry cleaners after they lost his pants, the most extraordinary fact was Roy Pearson's demand for $65 million in damages.

    That was before Pearson, an administrative law judge, broke down while testifying about the emotional pain of having the cleaners give him the wrong pants. It was before an 89-year-old woman in a wheelchair told of being chased out of the cleaners by an angry owner. And it was before she compared the owners of Custom Cleaners in open court to Nazis.
    "I knew it: It's all my fault," said the reporter from German television who was sitting next to me.

    The global import of Pearson v. Custom Cleaners was evident from the start. The courtroom was packed with members of the Korean Dry Cleaners Association and reporters from print and broadcast outlets in at least five countries. The guy from the tort reform lobby handed out bright green buttons protesting the $65 million "pantsuit." The gent from Fox TV sported neon-color paisley pants.

    And Pearson, who by his account has spent more than 1,400 hours preparing his case, arrived in a black pinstripe suit. I hope he won't sue me if I mention that the pants could have used a pressing.

    "Never before in recorded history have a group of defendants engaged in such misleading and unfair business practices," Pearson said in his opening statement. You don't get a lot of firsts in recorded history in D.C. Superior Court, though I should add that Marion Barry was in the building for his day in traffic court, and the pants suit easily outdrew the ex-mayor-for-life.
    The "willful and malicious conduct" Pearson described consisted of this: In 2005, Pearson was starting his new job as a judge and therefore needed to start wearing suits again after a couple of years of unemployment.A guy walks into a bar, orders a drink and screams, "All lawyers are assholes."
    a guy at the end of the bar yells back " I resent that remark!"
    The first guys asks, "Why, you a lawyer?"
    The man replies, "No, I'm an *******"
    He brought five suits in for alterations because he'd put on 20 pounds and needed to have the pants let out. Four suits came back fine. One came back without the pants.

    Pearson says the Chung family -- Korean immigrants who came here from the charcoal factories of Seoul in 1992 and now own three cleaners, including the one a short walk from Pearson's place in the Fort Lincoln section of Northeast -- had no intention of living up to the sign in their shop that said "Satisfaction Guaranteed." Therefore, Pearson said, he had no choice but to take on "the awesome responsibility" of suing the Chungs on behalf of every resident of the District of Columbia.

    Judge Judith Bartnoff went to remarkable lengths to try to keep Pearson moving along while disabusing him of the notion that he represented either the tens of thousands of people who have used Custom Cleaners or the half million people in Washington who might theoretically be at risk of being dissatisfied with the shop's service.

    From the start, Pearson kept referring to himself as "we," as if he were representing everyone in town. Bartnoff was having none of it: "Mr. Pearson, you are not a 'we.' You are an 'I.' "

    Defense lawyer Christopher Manning depicted Pearson as a bitter, wildly litigious man who emerged from a recent divorce with financial difficulties and who held a deep grudge against the Chungs stemming from a previous run-in. Back in 2002, after the cleaners lost another pair of his pants, Pearson was compensated with a check for $150. The Chungs then tried to ban him from their shop, but Pearson implored them to let him come back because Custom was the only cleaners within walking distance of his home, and he doesn't have a car.

    Pearson presented a series of witnesses who told of unhappy experiences at Custom. Their satisfaction, they said, was hardly guaranteed. But every one of Pearson's witnesses told the defense that in fact, they would have been entirely satisfied if they had been given credit for free cleaning or compensation in the amount of the value of their damaged or lost garment. Most of the witnesses said they'd generally had good experiences at Custom, and not one of Pearson's witnesses said anything about deserving millions of dollars.

    Witnesses depicted Soo Chung, the mom in the Mom and Pop operation, as someone who was pleasant and professional -- until a dispute arose, at which point she told several of the customers that it was they who had brought in damaged goods, not the shop that had caused any problem with an article of clothing.

    Grace Hewell, a retired congressional staffer, said Jin Chung, Soo's husband, "chased me out of the store" when she complained that her suit pants "looked like they had been washed" and no longer fit properly. "At 89, I'm not ready to be chased," she said. "But I was in World War II as a WAC, so I think I can take care of myself. Having lived in Germany and knowing the people who were victims of the Nazis, I thought he was going to beat me up. I thought of what Hitler had done to thousands of Jews."

    After questioning eight witnesses, Pearson spent two hours telling his own story, but as he came to the part about when Soo Chung finally told him she had found the missing pants, the tale of the $10.50 alteration that went awry proved to be too much.

    "These are not my pants," Pearson recalled telling Chung when she handed him a pair of gray pants with cuffs. "I have in my adult life, with one exception, never worn pants with cuffs."

    "And she said, 'These are your pants.' "

    Pearson paused. He struggled to breathe deeply. He could not continue. Pearson blurted a request for a break, stood up, turned around and walked out of the courtroom, tears dripping from his full and reddened eyes.
    When he returned, he called that moment when Chung offered him the wrong pants "a Twilight Zone experience," and again, he welled up and had to halt the proceedings. Pearson wanted to submit the remainder of his testimony in writing, but Judge Bartnoff wouldn't hear of it.

    The trial is expected to end today. Pearson has reduced his claim to $54 million. But he told the judge that he also wants to be awarded attorney's fees, even though he represents himself. He would like to be paid at a rate of between $390 and $425 an hour.

    Earlier in the day, Pearson called his 30-year-old son as a witness. The son testified that he was surprised that his father had filed this suit. "I know you don't like litigation at all," he said.
    A guy walks into a bar, orders a drink and screams, "All lawyers are a**holes."
    a guy at the end of the bar yells back " I resent that remark!"
    The first guys asks, "Why, you a lawyer?"
    The man replies, "No, I'm an a**hole"

    Q. Why do they bury lawyers 27 feet under?
    A. 'Cuz deep, deep down, they're good people

    Q. What's the difference between a Catfish and a lawyer?
    A. One is a scum sucking bottom dweller, and the other is a fish.

  • #2
    Old Will Shakespeare put it best,"The first thing we do is hang all the lawyers.";)
    "Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves, therefore, are its only safe depositories." Thomas Jefferson

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    • #3
      This thing is hilarious. I laughed when I first heard the ridiculuos story.

      From what I heard the koreans plan to leave to Korea when the trial is done. I truly feel sorry for the owners for having to put up this guy. This is a waste of government money and money from the owners.

      If it were me being sued by this guy, I just might give him something to really sue for millions.
      Those who can't change become extinct.

      Comment


      • #4
        Crazy is all that one can say.


        "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

        I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

        HAKUNA MATATA

        Comment


        • #5
          So...where's Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to play the race card?

          If I were the cleaners, I would counter sue him and accuse him as a racist. I don't see him harassing "white" merchants.

          edit: just found out why Jesse and Al are not involved. This judge is black. As we all know, blacks can't be racist.
          Last edited by gunnut; 15 Jun 07,, 22:37.
          "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

          Comment


          • #6
            He's using his knowledge of the courts to persecute the Korean family. He regards his pants as more important than an entire families well-being. He is, in short, a nasty racist piece of **** and the fact he may hold some form of public office is astonishing.
            In the realm of spirit, seek clarity; in the material world, seek utility.

            Leibniz

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            • #7
              This just in: I think Judge Pearson was just fired by his boss.

              Parihaka, please, don't hold anything back. Tell us how you really feel.
              "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Parihaka View Post
                He's using his knowledge of the courts to persecute the Korean family. He regards his pants as more important than an entire families well-being. He is, in short, a nasty racist piece of **** and the fact he may hold some form of public office is astonishing.
                If you think thats bad ... in the early 1991 David Duke ran for governor of Louisiana and got about 39% of the vote (671,009 people were dumb and racist enough to vote for him - this included 55% of the White vote in Louisiana) and he as also been a presidential canidate in both Democrat and Republican parties and ran for Senator from Louisiana in 1996 and got 11.5% or 141,489 votes.

                Now that is CRAZY

                If you dont believe me go to Wikipedia and type in David Duke, this is only a small part of what this clown has done.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by gunnut View Post
                  So...where's Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to play the race card?

                  If I were the cleaners, I would counter sue him and accuse him as a racist. I don't see him harassing "white" merchants.

                  edit: just found out why Jesse and Al are not involved. This judge is black. As we all know, blacks can't be racist.
                  They're Korean, so Jackson and Sharpton really don't care.
                  F/A-18E/F Super Hornet: The Honda Accord of fighters.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by BenRoethig View Post
                    They're Korean, so Jackson and Sharpton really don't care.
                    That's partially true.

                    They will care if some minority group is perceived to be "wronged" by whites. They frequently involve themselves in cases where hispanics are "wronged" in some way.

                    In this case, the harasser is a black man. So not a word from the race peddlers.
                    "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by gunnut View Post
                      This just in: I think Judge Pearson was just fired by his boss.

                      Parihaka, please, don't hold anything back. Tell us how you really feel.
                      Not fired, but recommended that he not be given another term on the bench
                      http://www.examiner.com/printa-782166~Pants_lawsuit_could_cost_D.C._judge_his_$10 0,000_job.html
                      Pants lawsuit could cost D.C. judge his $100,000 job

                      The boss of Roy L. Pearson Jr., the administrative law judge whose $54 million pants lawsuit has turned the D.C. legal system into a punch line on late-night talk shows, has recommended that the city deny Pearson another term on the bench, D.C. government sources said Thursday.

                      In a letter to the three-person commission that will decide whether Pearson gets reappointed, District of Columbia Chief Administrative Judge Tyrone T. Butler said Pearson does not deserve a 10-year term to the post, which pays more than $100,000 a year.

                      “My sense is that the commission will not reappoint him,” a D.C. government source said.

                      Butler’s letter reverses his previous recommendation in support of Pearson that he sent to the commission before the pants suit case gained worldwide notoriety.

                      Butler would not comment on his recommendation, according to his office.

                      Administrative judges preside over disputes between a government agency and people bringing complaints against the agency.

                      Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff said she would rule on Pearson’s lawsuit by next week. Pearson broke down on the stand twice trying to describe the day he learned that he would never see his pants again. He has requested $500,000 in legal fees for the 1,400 hours he says he put into the case. A friend testified that Pearson had no life outside the office because he was consumed with the case, working nights and weekends.

                      Pearson has had a history of doggedly pursuing legal matters.

                      Before he became a D.C. judge two years ago, Pearson was unemployed after working as legal aid attorney for 24 years. He worked on one tenant lawsuit for 18 years, appealing the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

                      His former boss once called him the best attorney he ever hired, but their relationship soured and Pearson quit in 2002.

                      In 2005, in his divorce suit, Virginia courts ordered him to pay his ex-wife, also a lawyer, $12,000 for “creating unnecessary litigation” and threatening her and her attorney with disbarment.

                      At the time of the ruling, he had no steady job, no bank account and less than $2,000 in cash.

                      [email protected], [email protected]
                      You should visit this link if you want to read about the crazy stuff that took place at the trial.

                      Roy L Pearson Update from Planck's Constant



                      Q. Why does California have the most lawyers and New York the most toxic waste dumps?
                      A. New York had first pick.


                      Q. How can you tell when a lawyer is well hung?
                      A. When you can't get your finger between the noose and his neck.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        At the time of the ruling, he had no steady job, no bank account and less than $2,000 in cash.
                        Considering how much he made as a lawyer and judge, what the hell happen to all his money, the divorce couldn't have taken that much from him.

                        This guy really has no life, he must have cracked a long time ago. I'm shocked he managed to get marry.
                        Those who can't change become extinct.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Dry Cleaner Wins Missing Pants Case

                          No pair of pants is worth $54 million. A judge rejected a lawsuit Monday that sought that amount by taking a dry cleaner's promise of "Satisfaction Guaranteed" to its most litigious extreme.

                          Roy L. Pearson became a worldwide symbol of legal abuse by seeking jackpot justice from a simple complaint that a neighborhood dry cleaners lost the pants from a suit and tried to give him a pair that were not his.

                          His claim, reduced from $67 million, was based on a strict interpretation of the city's consumer protection law which imposes fines of $1,500 per violation as well as damages for inconvenience, mental anguish and attorney's fees for representing himself.
                          Finally. Common sense prevails.

                          ABC News: Dry Cleaner Wins Missing Pants Case

                          The hearing for the legal cost for the cleaners is up next. I hope the court rules that he has to pay due to inflicting "mental suffering" on the defendant.
                          "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by gunnut View Post
                            Finally. Common sense prevails.

                            ABC News: Dry Cleaner Wins Missing Pants Case

                            The hearing for the legal cost for the cleaners is up next. I hope the court rules that he has to pay due to inflicting "mental suffering" on the defendant.
                            Well, it has been a farce that has been reported around the globe. I'm afraid the US law has been made a laughing stock, but the judgement will, hopefully, go some way to restoring peoples faith in the system.
                            Semper in excretum. Solum profunda variat.

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                            • #15
                              I'm very happy Pearson got the shaft, couldn't have happened to a more deserving guy. No pair of pants is worth 54 million.

                              I hope the defendants get 54 million, that would truely be poetic.
                              Facts to a liberal is like Kryptonite to Superman.

                              -- Larry Elder

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