can you bleieve this prick?

BDx13 - 5-3-2007 at 10:55 AM

Judge sues cleaner for $65M over pants

By LUBNA TAKRURI, Associated Press Writer Thu May 3, 6:55 AM ET

WASHINGTON - The Chungs, immigrants from South Korea, realized their American dream when they opened their dry-cleaning business seven years ago in the nation's capital. For the past two years, however, they've been dealing with the nightmare of litigation: a $65 million lawsuit over a pair of missing pants.

Jin Nam Chung, Ki Chung and their son, Soo Chung, are so disheartened that they're considering moving back to Seoul, said their attorney, Chris Manning, who spoke on their behalf.

"They're out a lot of money, but more importantly, incredibly disenchanted with the system," Manning said. "This has destroyed their lives."

The lawsuit was filed by a District of Columbia administrative hearings judge, Roy Pearson, who has been representing himself in the case.

Pearson did not return phone calls and e-mails Wednesday from The Associated Press requesting comment.

According to court documents, the problem began in May 2005 when Pearson became a judge and brought several suits for alteration to Custom Cleaners in Northeast Washington, a place he patronized regularly despite previous disagreements with the Chungs. A pair of pants from one suit was not ready when he requested it two days later, and was deemed to be missing.

Pearson asked the cleaners for the full price of the suit: more than $1,000.

But a week later, the Chungs said the pants had been found and refused to pay. That's when Pearson decided to sue.

Manning said the cleaners made three settlement offers to Pearson. First they offered $3,000, then $4,600, then $12,000. But Pearson wasn't satisfied and expanded his calculations beyond one pair of pants.

Because Pearson no longer wanted to use his neighborhood dry cleaner, part of his lawsuit calls for $15,000 ? the price to rent a car every weekend for 10 years to go to another business.

"He's somehow purporting that he has a constitutional right to a dry cleaner within four blocks of his apartment," Manning said.

But the bulk of the $65 million comes from Pearson's strict interpretation of D.C.'s consumer protection law, which fines violators $1,500 per violation, per day. According to court papers, Pearson added up 12 violations over 1,200 days, and then multiplied that by three defendants.

Much of Pearson's case rests on two signs that Custom Cleaners once had on its walls: "Satisfaction Guaranteed" and "Same Day Service."

Based on Pearson's dissatisfaction and the delay in getting back the pants, he claims the signs amount to fraud.

Pearson has appointed himself to represent all customers affected by such signs, though D.C. Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz, who will hear the June 11 trial, has said that this is a case about one plaintiff, and one pair of pants.

Sherman Joyce, president of the American Tort Association, has written a letter to the group of men who will decide this week whether to renew Pearson's 10-year appointment. Joyce is asking them to reconsider.

Chief Administrative Judge Tyrone Butler had no comment regarding Pearson's reappointment.

The association, which tries to police the kind of abusive lawsuits that hurt small businesses, also has offered to buy Pearson the suit of his choice.

And former National Labors Relations Board chief administrative law judge Melvin Welles wrote to The Washington Post to urge "any bar to which Mr. Pearson belongs to immediately disbar him and the District to remove him from his position as an administrative law judge."

"There has been a significant groundswell of support for the Chungs," said Manning, adding that plans for a defense fund Web site are in the works.

To the Chungs and their attorney, one of the most frustrating aspects of the case is their claim that Pearson's gray pants were found a week after Pearson dropped them off in 2005. They've been hanging in Manning's office for more than a year.

Pearson claims in court documents that his pants had blue and red pinstripes.

"They match his inseam measurements. The ticket on the pants match his receipt," Manning said.

___

On the Net: http://www.CustomCleanersDefenseFund.com

CR83 - 5-3-2007 at 11:22 AM

This is a prime example of how bullshit our judicial system is. The judge that gets this should bitch slap him.

moron - 5-3-2007 at 11:22 AM

I actually watched the news for once this morning and heard about this. That dude is gonna get laughed outta court and I hope the people who own that business counter sue him and win a shit load of money.

RomanticViolence - 5-3-2007 at 11:25 AM

Another asshole that doesn't need to be alive.

newbreedbrian - 5-3-2007 at 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by RomanticViolence
Another asshole that doesn't need to be alive.

Jason the Magnificent - 5-3-2007 at 12:38 PM

Wether he gets laughed out of court or not, these poor dy cleaners still have 2 years worth of legal fees to contend with.

DaveMoral - 5-3-2007 at 12:54 PM

They should file a counter suit on this motherfucker and at the very least get the legal fees handled, but I'd go for fucking broke and take his bitch ass for all the grief he's caused them.

A goddamn judge no less! If he doesn't get laughed outta court then they should take the shit so far man... like are they making sure that the judge that gets this case isn't buddies with the judge who is suing these people? This is just fucking rediculous.

Jason the Magnificent - 5-3-2007 at 01:00 PM

I read another article where it mentioned he got turned down trying to turn this into a class action lawsuit!!!....so at least at some point in this process one of the judges put his foot down.

upyerbum - 5-3-2007 at 01:10 PM

What the fuck is wrong with people? That motherfucker probably hasn't put in a hard days work in his life.

Voodoobillyman - 5-3-2007 at 01:49 PM

ridiculous, this man should be ashamed of himself, and knows he is wrong because he won't comment to the AP.

xTRUEx - 5-3-2007 at 02:13 PM

Ten bucks says he wouldn't have tried to pull this shit if the drycleaning family was white.

Discipline - 5-3-2007 at 02:59 PM

I'm glad the Canadian legal system doesn't allow for ridiculous amounts like this to be claimed.

JawnDiablo - 5-3-2007 at 03:27 PM

Sue happy fuckers like this have been bringing America down for the last 30 years.
Judges awarding obscene settlements have only made it worse.
What an asshole.
Bring him to my house so I can hit him in the face with a shovel.

BDx13 - 6-18-2007 at 01:45 PM

UPDATE:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/06/13/trouser.trial/index.html

Dave - 6-18-2007 at 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Discipline
I'm glad the Canadian legal system doesn't allow for ridiculous amounts like this to be claimed.

this would never come to this up here.....

JawnDiablo - 6-18-2007 at 02:18 PM

I say you lock that guy up for clogging up the legal system.
what an asshole.

Siczine.com - 6-18-2007 at 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by juandiablo
Sue happy fuckers like this have been bringing America down for the last 30 years.
Judges awarding obscene settlements have only made it worse.
What an asshole.
Bring him to my house so I can hit him in the face with a shovel.

Truth.

upyerbum - 6-18-2007 at 03:05 PM

I would expect this to happen in a litigious society like the States, but not from a judge, and why has this suit even been entertained?

DaveMoral - 6-18-2007 at 04:21 PM

I hope the judge makes this dude pay the shop owners AND hits him in the face with his gavel.

upyerbum - 6-18-2007 at 04:47 PM

The sheer frivolity of it really makes a complete mockery of your whole injustice system. Not to mention ruined the lives of some hardworking people.

DAK - 6-18-2007 at 04:54 PM

Where's Woody Harrelson's father when you need him????

BDx13 - 6-18-2007 at 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by upyerbum
Not to mention ruined the lives of some hardworking people.

That's the part that pisses me off.

When we lived in NYC, we were friendly with quite a few people who had immigrated to the US and started their own businesses - restaurants, bodegas, cleaners, what have you. Some of the nicest, hardest working people you could ask to meet, living the American Dream. Something like this, though, could easily ruin any of them.

newbreedbrian - 6-18-2007 at 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BD

Quote:

Originally posted by upyerbum
Not to mention ruined the lives of some hardworking people.

exactly. this makes my fucking blood boil.

morgan - 6-19-2007 at 12:40 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DaveMoral
I hope the judge makes this dude pay the shop owners AND hits him in the face with his gavel.

I couldn't agree more... Maybe let the business owners slap him around a little bit too for their trouble.

BDx13 - 6-25-2007 at 11:19 AM

Dry cleaner wins in missing-pants case
By LUBNA TAKRURI, Associated Press Writer 18 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - A judge on Monday ruled in favor of a dry cleaner that was sued for $54 million over a missing pair of pants in a case that garnered international attention and renewed calls for litigation reform.

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District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff ruled that the Korean immigrant owners of Custom Cleaners did not violate the city's Consumer Protection Act by failing to live up to Roy L. Pearson's expectations of the "Satisfaction Guaranteed" sign that was once placed in the store window.

"Plaintiff Roy L. Pearson, Jr. takes nothing from the defendants, and defendants Soo Chung, Jin Nam Chung and Ki Y. Chung are awarded the costs of this action against the plaintiff Roy L. Pearson, Jr.," the ruling read.

Pearson, an administrative law judge, originally sought $67 million from the Chungs after he claimed they lost a pair of suit trousers and later tried to return a pair that he said was not his. He arrived at the figure by adding up years of law violations and almost $2 million in common law claims. Pearson later dropped demands for damages related to the pants and focused his claims on signs in the shop, which have since been removed.

Chris Manning, the Chungs' attorney, countered that no reasonable person would interpret the signs to be an unconditional promise of satisfaction.

The two-day trial earlier this month drew a standing-room-only crowd, including many Korean and international media outlets covering the story. It even overshadowed the drunken driving trial of former Mayor Marion Barry.

The Chungs also said the trial had taken an enormous financial and emotional toll on them and exposed them to widespread ridicule.

Discipline - 6-25-2007 at 11:32 AM

It's a good thing they won. The public would have gone nuts if that douchebag had won and been awarded millions.

newbreedbrian - 6-25-2007 at 12:08 PM

that made my day.

JawnDiablo - 6-25-2007 at 12:46 PM

thank fuckin god this sorry excuse for a human being didn't win. in fact , i think the jerk off should be prosecuted for clogging up the courts and just being an overall prick.

upyerbum - 6-25-2007 at 01:56 PM

He should be ejected from the bar.

BDx13 - 6-25-2007 at 01:59 PM

if i understand that article correctly, it looks like the family will have their legal fees covered. i assume by him? i wish there was some way to contact the family to offer them some word of encouragement.

Discipline - 6-25-2007 at 03:54 PM

He will in fact be paying for their legal bills, and it's going to cost him a shitload of cash.

upyerbum - 6-25-2007 at 04:03 PM

Good. They should be able to sue him just for being a douche.

DaveMoral - 6-25-2007 at 05:13 PM

Sweet, sweet justice.