Jack S
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The guy's name was Roy Pearson. At the time, he had recently, and successfully applied for a job as, ironically, a court judge. He needed a suit to wear to this new job, and the one he had was a bit tight around the waist. So Pearson dropped off one pair of pants May 3 so he could wear them to his new job May 6. But on May 5, the pants weren't ready. Custom Cleaners at that time had two big signs on its walls. One said "Satisfaction Guaranteed," and the other said, "Same Day Service." Pearson relied on these signs. Deeply. And the failure on the part of Custom Cleaners to fulfill their promises was heartbreaking. So he demanded millions of dollars for the follwing:
-for the damages he suffered by not getting his pants back
-for his litigation costs
-for "mental suffering, inconvenience and discomfort"
-for the value of the time he has spent on the lawsuit
-for leasing a car every weekend for 10 years
-and for a replacement suit
According to court papers. Pearson demanded $65,462,500. The original alteration work on the pants cost $10.50. But why should he receive money for this laundry list of things?
The plaintiff, who says he has devoted more than 1,000 hours to represent himself in this battle, says that as a result of poor service at Custom, he must find another cleaner. And because Pearson does not own a car, he says he will have to rent one to get his clothes taken care of.
But what exactly happened? In 2002, Custom Cleaners lost a pair of pants that Pearson had put in for cleaning. One week after the error was discovered, Custom gave Pearson a cheque for $150 for new pants. A few days later, the Chungs, Korean immigrants who live in Virginia and own three D.C. cleaners, told Pearson that he was no longer welcome at their store. That dispute was eventually put aside, and Pearson continued to use the company. Because he never got his pants back, and regardless of the $150 compensation cheque, this amounts to fraud, negligence and a scam. Apparently.
A week after that routine mishap -- pants go astray all the time at cleaners -- Soo Chung, one of the proprietors of Custom Cleaners, came up with gray trousers that she said were Pearson's. But when the judge said that he had dropped off pants with red and blue pinstripes, there was no joy in Fort Lincoln.
Pearson's first letter to the Chungs sought $1,150 so he could buy a new suit. Two lawyers and many legal bills later, the Chungs offered Pearson $3,000, then $4,600 and, finally, says their attorney, Chris Manning, $12,000 to settle the case.
But Pearson pushes on. How does he get to $65 million? The District's consumer protection law provides for damages of $1,500 per violation per day. Pearson started multiplying: 12 violations over 1,200 days, times three defendants. A pant leg here, a pant leg there, and soon, you're talking $65 million.
The case, set for trial in June, is on its second judge. The Chungs have removed the signs upon which Pearson's case rests.
"This case shocks me on a daily basis," Manning says. "Pearson has a lot of time on his hands, and the Chungs have been abused in a ghastly way. It's going to cost them tens of thousands to defend this case."
A judge in the case has admonished Pearson about his take-no-prisoners tactics. When Pearson sought to broaden the case to try to prove violations of consumer protection laws on behalf of all District residents, D.C. Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz said that "the court has significant concerns that the plaintiff is acting in bad faith" because of "the breathtaking magnitude of the expansion he seeks."
Pearson has put the Chungs and their attorneys to work answering long lists of questions, such as this: "Please identify by name, full address and telephone number, all cleaners known to you on May 1, 2005 in the District of Columbia, the United States and the world that advertise 'SATISFACTION GUARANTEED.' "
In the world.
The answer: "None."
In a closet of a lawyer's office in downtown Washington, there is a pair of gray wool pants, waiting to be picked up by Roy Pearson.
"We believe the pants are his," Manning says. "The tag matches his receipt." |
No Spam
Adult 
Gambling
Unfinished
Deception
Plagiarism
Not English
