Dry Cleaner Wins Missing Pants Case

Every now and then, the legal system manages to get it right and avoid embarrassment. I seriously hope the judge who filed the suit gets disbarred, and banned from practicing.

He should also be ordered not only to pay the defendants' attorney fees, but also a compensation amount for distress caused.

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By LUBNA TAKRURI, Associated Press Writer
Mon Jun 25, 11:00 PM ET

WASHINGTON - No pair of pants is worth $54 million. A judge rejected a lawsuit Monday that sought that amount by taking a dry cleaner's promise of "Satisfaction Guaranteed" to its most litigious extreme.

Roy L. Pearson became a worldwide symbol of legal abuse by seeking jackpot justice from a simple complaint — that a neighborhood dry cleaners lost the pants from a suit and tried to give him a pair that were not his.

His claim, reduced from $67 million, was based on a strict interpretation of the city's consumer protection law — which imposes fines of $1,500 per violation — as well as damages for inconvenience, mental anguish and attorney's fees for representing himself.

But District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff ruled that the owners of Custom Cleaners did not violate the consumer protection law by failing to live up to Pearson's expectations of the "Satisfaction Guaranteed" sign once displayed in the store.

"A reasonable consumer would not interpret 'Satisfaction Guaranteed' to mean that a merchant is required to satisfy a customer's unreasonable demands," the judge wrote.

Bartnoff wrote that Pearson, an administrative law judge, also failed to prove that the pants the dry cleaner tried to return were not the pants he took in.

Bartnoff ordered Pearson to pay clerical court costs of about $1,000 to defendants Soo Chung, Jin Nam Chung and Ki Y. Chung. A motion to recover the Chungs' tens of thousands of dollars in attorney fees will be considered later.

"Judge Bartnoff has spoken loudly in suggesting that, while consumers should be protected, abusive lawsuits like this will not be tolerated," the Chungs' attorney, Chris Manning, said in a statement. "Judge Bartnoff has chosen common sense and reasonableness over irrationality and unbridled venom."

Speaking to reporters outside their dry cleaners, the Chungs said they held no hard feelings toward Pearson. "If he wants to continue using our services, then, yes, he is welcome," Soo Chung, a Korean immigrant, said through a translator.

Pearson, who came to court during the two-day trial earlier this month carrying the jacket he said went with the missing pants, did not respond to a call and an e-mail seeking comment.

The case began in 2005 when Pearson became a judge and brought several suits for alterations to Custom Cleaners in Washington. A pair of pants from one suit was missing when he requested it two days later.

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. Pearson said those were not his pants and decided to sue.

Over the course of the litigation, the Chungs said they made three settlement offers — $3,000, then $4,600, then $12,000 — all rejected.

The case garnered international attention and renewed calls for litigation reform.

"This case was giving American justice a black eye around the world, and it was all the more upsetting because it was a judge and lawyer who was bringing the suit," said Paul Rothstein, a Georgetown University law professor.

Rothstein said Monday's ruling "restores one's confidence in the legal system."

Calls have come from around the world for Pearson to lose his position on the bench and be disbarred. The city's chief administrative law judge is still considering Pearson's 10-year reappointment.

Some Of Football's Dumbest Quotes

Took this off The Sun Online, and thought it was really farny...

"I couldn't settle in Italy — it was like living in a foreign country."

Ian Rush reveals the reason behind his failed spell at Juventus.

"I'd like to play for an Italian club, like Barcelona."

Former Aston Villa playmaker Mark Draper points out where Ian Rush went wrong.

"The important thing was we got the three points."

Silverware clearly means nothing to Chelsea's Wayne Bridge following their Carling Cup final win against Arsenal. What is more worrying is that at no point on the way to the game did he ask anyone why they were playing at the Millennium Stadium that day.

"I was watching the Blackburn game on TV on Sunday when it flashed on the screen that George (Ndah) had scored in the first minute at Birmingham. My first reaction was to ring him up. Then I remembered he was out there playing."

Ade Akinbiyi struggles with the concept of live football.

"Germany are a very difficult team to play — they had 11 internationals out there today."

Northern Ireland midfielder Steve Lomas explains why Germany outplayed them

"I was surprised, but I always say nothing surprises me in football."

Les Ferdinand always uses that saying, just never heeds it.

"We didn't underestimate them. They were a lot better than we thought."

Bobby Robson after England nearly lost to Cameroon in the 1990 World Cup.

"I never make predictions and I never will."

Paul Gascoigne gets it instantly wrong

"If history is going to repeat itself I should think we can expect the same thing again."

Terry Venables states the bleedin' obvious

"This could be a repeat of the final."

Kevin Keegan before England's group stage game against Holland at Euro 96

"England have the best fans in the world and Scotland's fans are second-to-none."

Who else but Keegan?

"They're the second-best team in the world and there's no higher praise than that."

The man famous for his perm continues to struggle.

"And I honestly believe we can go all the way to Wembley — unless somebody knocks us out."

Dave Bassett gets his head around the concept of a knockout system.

"What I said to them at half-time would be unprintable on the radio."

Ex-Spurs boss Gerry Francis

"It took a lot of bottle for Tony (Adams) to own up."

Ian Wright shows his admiration after Tony Adams reveals his drinking problem.

"Luis Figo is totally different to David Beckham, and vice versa."

Keegan makes yet another appearance.

"It's not as good as Adams' challenge, but it's on a par."

Ron Atkinson does his level best to muck this one up.

Waiting For My Real Life To Begin

I love these 2 new postcards from Postsecrets. I always wondered at how life is one big game of waiting for the next thing to happen.

As a kid, my parents told me to wait until I grew up before making my own decisions. Now at 28, they clearly would still love to keep telling me that, if not for how I remind them that doing so makes them look positively ridiculous.

I also learnt that waiting for exams to end is an exercise in futility. There is always one more to prepare for. My failure to grad not withstanding, everyone around me at 30 or even 40 are still going for the Phd.s, their CFAs, and what-nots.

Then I was waiting to finish my NS obligations, only to be faced with a further 14 years of reservist duty. I started waiting for a girlfriend, and after that comes the wait to get married. Then I spend the rest of my life waiting for kids, so that I can wait for them to repeat my own life cycle of waiting.

I wait for the perfect job to appear in my life, where I can find delight in what I'm doing, and to excel in the tasks. Each job I take supposedly takes me one step closer, but it soon became clear that such satisfaction is a privilege that's denied to almost all save for an exceptional few. So I end up waiting for retirement instead.

The sad thing is, my parents are supposedly retired. But they're still working.

I also spend an obscene amount of time waiting for my regrets to turn around, for that moment when my past failures are redeemed, and I keep on waiting, despite knowing how futile the attempt is…

Even in church, we wait for the congregation to get serious about God. We wait for people to rise up and serve. We wait for the lost sheep to return. We wait for the sermons to get better, the worship to help us touch God, the ministries to nurture and revive us. We wait for revival. We wait for personal revival and breakthrough. We even wait for Christ to come again.

Hahaha…

Makes me think of a song by Colin Hay that I heard in Scrubs, called “Waiting For My Real Life To Begin”.

Waiting For My Real Life To Begin
Any minute now, my ship is coming in
I'll keep checking the horizon
I'll stand on the bow, feel the waves come crashing
Come crashing down down down, on me
And you say, be still my love
Open up your heart
Let the light shine in
Don't you understand
I already have a plan
I'm waiting for my real life to begin

When I awoke today, suddenly nothing happened
But in my dreams, I slew the dragon
And down this beaten path, and up this cobbled lane
I'm walking in my old footsteps, once again
And you say, just be here now
Forget about the past
Your mask is wearing thin
Let me throw one more dice
I know that I can win
I'm waiting for my real life to begin

Any minute now, my ship is coming in
I'll keep checking the horizon
And I'll check my machine, there's sure to be that call
It's gonna happen soon, soon, soon
It's just that times are lean
And you say, be still my love
Open up your heart
Let the light shine in
Don't you understand
I already have a plan
I'm waiting for my real life to begin

On a clear day I can see
See a very long way

-Colin Hay

So my question for the day to all of you… what are YOU waiting for? Cos as for me, I think I don't know what I'm waiting for anymore. Its just become a way of life. 11 years after doing Samuel Beckett in St. Andrews JC, I've now officially joined the club of those Waiting For Godot.