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BDx13
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can you bleieve this prick?
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
If I fail math, there goes my chance at a good job and a happy life full of hard work.
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CR83
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This is a prime example of how bullshit our judicial system is. The judge that gets this should bitch slap him.
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moron
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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.
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RomanticViolence
* Jennytailya *
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Another asshole that doesn't need to be alive.
Have you ever noticed how crayons are a lot like M&M's? All the colors tend to taste the same.
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newbreedbrian
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| Quote: | Originally posted by RomanticViolence
Another asshole that doesn't need to be alive. |
The very existence of flamethrowers proves that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves, ?You know, I want to set those people over there on
fire, but I?m just not close enough to get the job done.? George Carlin
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Jason the Magnificent
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Wether he gets laughed out of court or not, these poor dy cleaners still have 2 years worth of legal fees to contend with.
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DaveMoral
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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.
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Jason the Magnificent
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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.
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upyerbum
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What the fuck is wrong with people? That motherfucker probably hasn't put in a hard days work in his life.
Well, its this place where nobody works, and the pigs don\'t give you any shit. Everyone smokes weed and gets drunk all day. Its a place where
cunts like me and you can truly take it easy and relax. Know what I mean?
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Voodoobillyman
The Artist Formerly Known As...
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ridiculous, this man should be ashamed of himself, and knows he is wrong because he won't comment to the AP.
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xTRUEx
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Ten bucks says he wouldn't have tried to pull this shit if the drycleaning family was white.
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Discipline
* DRUNKEN MONKEY *
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I'm glad the Canadian legal system doesn't allow for ridiculous amounts like this to be claimed.
‘Do you know what a love letter is? It’s a bullet from a fucking gun. Straight through your heart.’
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JawnDiablo
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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.
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BDx13
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UPDATE:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/06/13/trouser.trial/index.html
If I fail math, there goes my chance at a good job and a happy life full of hard work.
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Dave
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| 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.....
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JawnDiablo
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I say you lock that guy up for clogging up the legal system.
what an asshole.
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Siczine.com
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| 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.
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upyerbum
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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?
Well, its this place where nobody works, and the pigs don\'t give you any shit. Everyone smokes weed and gets drunk all day. Its a place where
cunts like me and you can truly take it easy and relax. Know what I mean?
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DaveMoral
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I hope the judge makes this dude pay the shop owners AND hits him in the face with his gavel.
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upyerbum
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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.
Well, its this place where nobody works, and the pigs don\'t give you any shit. Everyone smokes weed and gets drunk all day. Its a place where
cunts like me and you can truly take it easy and relax. Know what I mean?
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DAK
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Where's Woody Harrelson's father when you need him????
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BDx13
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| 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.
If I fail math, there goes my chance at a good job and a happy life full of hard work.
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newbreedbrian
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| Quote: | Originally posted by BD
| 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. |
exactly. this makes my fucking blood boil.
The very existence of flamethrowers proves that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves, ?You know, I want to set those people over there on
fire, but I?m just not close enough to get the job done.? George Carlin
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morgan
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| 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.
Support the arts, shoot a rapper.
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BDx13
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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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
If I fail math, there goes my chance at a good job and a happy life full of hard work.
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