The Case of the $65 Million Pants

Most people outside the Beltway generally feel that those of us who live or work inside the Beltway are out of touch with the rest of the country. While not necessarily true, it's hard to argue against this view when you hear of stories like the judge who is suing a dry cleaners for a missing pair of pants. He is asking for $65 million dollars.

To be perfectly honest, I think most of us inside the Beltway think that the word "litigious" is too mild for this plaintiff.

The family that owns the dry cleaners, the Chungs, are immigrants from South Korea who came here looking for a better life. Instead, they've spent the bulk of their time defending themselves from a customer who, as a judge, ought to know better.

Roy Pearsons, the plaintiff, is a D.C. administrative hearings judge who took the signs "satisfaction guaranteed" and "same day service" a little too literally. The cleaners misplaced a pair of pants the judge needed and he demanded the cost of the suit-- $1000. But a week later, the pants were found so the Chungs refused to pay. Pearson decided to sue. And because of D.C. law, Pearson can ratchet up the claim based on the number of defendents and a fine of $1,500 per violation per day. Pearson came up with $65 million.

Oh, and he's also asking for rental car expenses since he doesn't own a car and will have to rent one to drop off and pick up clothes at a different dry cleaners. (What? He hasn't heard of the Metro?)

Pearson claims that he represents all customers affected by "satisfaction guaranteed" and "same day service" signs. However, the judge in this case, D.C. Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz, has said that the case is about one plaintiff and one pair of pants.

If all this isn't ridiculous enough, the pants, which match Pearson's inseam and have a tag that matches his claim ticket, have been hanging in a closet in the Chungs' attorney's office for over a year.