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 cleaner offered $12,000 to settle the case, but the judge refused. The original cost of the alteration: $10.50 — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
Lawyer's Price For Missing Pants: $65 Million [Washington Post]
(Photo: frogmuseum2)
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First you're an idiot if you think in anyway a $65 million lawsuit for pants is justifiable. I had a part time job at a dry cleaners for long time when i was in college, did just about every function of job there. Asking your shirt to be washed separately is an unreasonable thing to ask a cleaners in first place because running the machines with only your shirt in it and charging you $4.50 or whatever for shirt, they would lose money on it... but it's that cleaners fault for not telling you that and refusing to do so. If you read the article, the cleaners offered him reasonable compensation, then after the lawsuit offered him $12k. Cleaners go through thousands of pieces of clothing everyday and these things happen...And yes there are people that do not take responsibility, but these people doesn't seem to be the case. The judge was pissed and is trying to ruin these people's lives with the power that he has. If you think that's justifiable just to make a point, you are just of a scum as that judge.
]]>Even if the dry cleaners lost your article of clothing, cmon $65 million? If the cleaners were willing to settle for $12k I think that's MORE than enough for the trouble of getting new pants.
And I agree that this judge's position be very much reconsidered if he is the type to tie up courts with frivolous lawsuits and wasting people's time. Oh yeah and for trying to sue for $65 million for a pair of pants too...
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I dropped some polo shirts off at a dry cleaner out here in Las Vegas, and went back 2 days later to pick them up. When I dropped them off, I warned the guy to do one shirt seperate, because it was new and would bleed on the others. The guy said that would be fine. When I went to pick them up, one of the shirts had streaks all over them (from the shirt that I said would bleed). They tried to reclean it, and couldn't get the stain out.
The guy who was working said I had to call the manager during the day. I called the manager the next day, and the guy yelled at me, saying I brought it in with the stains on it, and was trying to get money from them. He said he wouldn't refund my cleaning money or pay for the shirt ($100). If I wanted to get any money from him, I would have to take him to court.
I filed a complaint with the BBB, and tell my friends not to go there. I probably would have taken him to small claims had a different dry cleaner not been able to get the stains out (I now provide the new dry cleaner with approx. $150/month in personal cleaning).
I don't blame this judge (provided he really got screwed by a crappy cleaner, and isn't just an asshole). Good for him. Maybe some dry cleaners will see this and realize they should take responsibilty for their actions, or lack of action.
Moral of the story: find a good dry cleaners, even if they cost more, and tell all of your friends to go there too.
I also think it's unbelievable to equate a missing/damaged car (which has a unique VIN) to an article of clothing (where many people can own the same style/size). Unless people want to institute a unique identifier that cannot be removed to every article of clothing, this kind of stuff is bound to happen.
]]>This case highlights an unintended consequence of consumer protection statutes, which have the effect of either imposing a higher duty, or artificially inflating damages.
Plus this guy appears to be some kind of fucking lunatic.
Then again, all plaintiffs are crazy; it's just a matter of degree.
]]>{sorry for the caps; I just hate best buy like everyone else with a passion :) + I lost ~700$ with them...... }
]]>"Yeah, it's just a pair of pants, but if you heard about a mechanic that looses an average of one car per week, would this kind of lawsuit seem that unreasonable?"
=D Maybe it would have it was a mechanic that happens to deal with thousands of new cars each day
]]>Are we supposed to be angry with the judge for seemingly taking advantage of a minority-owned business?
Please explain.
]]>William Shakespeare.
]]>Either way, interesting catch, and you guys do great work.
]]>People who bring frivolous lawsuits should be punished. There are plenty of legitimate consumer lawsuits in the courts without people clogging it up with suits that ask for 8-figure settlements arising from a $10 loss.
Dude, it was a pair of pants. Get over it. This kind of thing coming from an ordinary person is bad enough, but it's inexcusable from a judge.
]]>The dry cleaner offered to buy a new pair of pants for him originally, which sounds very reasonable.
I read the original article. The judge wanted his pants let out two to three inches. Folks gain weight but expecting to be able to let pants out two or three inches also shows bad judgment.
This is a very bad consumer, do not act like him.
]]>Who hasn't lost at least one article of clothing at the dry cleaners?
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Then again, this guy is a lawyer so greed will probably still overtake any embarrassment he is feeling now.
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