Voice of the Mid-Columbia | Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, Wash. |
Print
E-Mail
tool name
closeRoy L. Pearson's case has been thrown out of court again.
Well, at least his appeal has been rejected.
We have to be careful what we say here, because Roy L. Pearson is likely to try to sue us.
And if you know what's good for you, you won't even so much as smile at what you read here.
You could be next.
According to The Associated Press, an appeals court in Washington, D.C., has rejected a new trial for Pearson, a former District of Columbia judge who tried to sue his dry cleaners for $54 million over a pair of suit pants.
Pearson became the laughingstock of not just America but the whole world when he brought suit over his suit.
The three-judge panel rejected his claim that the trial court erred in a 2007 ruling that denied him damages. Pearson had argued that Custom Cleaners failed to live up to its promise of "Satisfaction Guaranteed."
According to The Wall Street Journal, "It all began ... when Mr. Pearson walked into Custom Cleaners, a Northeast D.C. establishment owned by Jin Chung, Soo Chung and Ki Chung. He laid down $10.50 to have a pair of pants altered.
"The results dissatisfied him: The job wasn't finished on time, and he says the pants he was given were someone else's, which the Chungs deny. He demanded $1,150 for a new suit; the Chungs demurred. So it was off to court, with the claimed damages subject to alterations, in an expansive direction."
When even the good old WSJ starts taking on a raffish tone, you know you've got something going.
Blogs abound on the Pearson case.
Again, The Wall Street Journal: "How billowy did those damages get? Well, it seems Mr. Pearson needed to be paid for 10 years' worth of weekend car rentals so that he could patronize a different dry cleaner. He wanted $500,000 for emotional distress and -- though representing himself -- $542,000 in legal fees. Best of all, he claimed that the signs on display at Custom Cleaners, 'Satisfaction Guaranteed' and 'Same Day Service,' were fraudulent, entitling him to damages of $1,500 each per day under D.C. consumer law.
"He multiplied 12 violations by three defendants by 1,200 days, and soon was up over $65 million (later cut to a mere $54 million)."
Less humorously, the family who owned the laundry considered moving back to their native Korea to escape the ravenous lawyer Pearson.
A fund has been started to help them weather this flawed suit over a suit.
Pearson still can ask the entire nine-judge appellate court to review the case or appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Let us hope he does not do that.
The courts don't need more nonsense jamming their calendars.
The Chung family needs to get some rest from their ongoing nightmare.
Lawyers need not have this poster child for frivolous lawsuits continue his crusade.
Pearson needs to get a life -- and we'd prefer he found some other line of work.
Remember, at one time this guy was a judge, ruling over matters involving other people's lives.
Editorials are the consensus of the Tri-City Herald editorial board.
Editorial board members are Rufus Friday, publisher; Chris Sivula, editorial page editor; Ken Robertson, executive editor; Matt Taylor, contributing editor; Lori Lancaster, editorial writer; Shelly Norman, editorial writer and Jack Briggs, retired publisher
@Nyx.CommentBody@