In order to help the Chungs defray their legal bills, ILR and the American Tort Reform Association are co-hosting a fundraiser on Tuesday evening, July 24 at 6 p.m. at the US Chamber Building in Washington, DC. Unfortunately, businesses large and small across America must deal every day with similar extortionist tactics from some plaintiffs' lawyers. The collective outcome is not justice, but lost jobs, ruined businesses and billions of dollars in lost economic opportunity. Additional details, sponsorship opportunities and easy online registration are available at www.chungfundraiser.com.

It's about principle? So if a company burns your burger, messes up your haircut or loses a pair of your pants, that allows you to totally destroy their whole family's means of support and their lives as well? Puh-LEASE! You are entitled to a replacement, and that's IT! This whole county needs a damn wakeup call. The world doesn't revolve around you, you don't deserve to be a millionaire, and the customer isn't always right. The only thing anyone deserves is something they work for...and a pair of pants might be $100.

If anything, the drycleaners and taxpayers should get a refund...on the money and time this asshat has wasted.

Judges, like tollbooth workers and news reporters, don't wear pants!

I'm actually anxiously awaiting their writeup of the case. (www.truestellaawards.com if anybody is interested)

Now the amount he is seeking in damages is irrelevant. Yes the plaintiff is being a tool, but the damages will be awarded by the judge or the jury, depending on the state. The dry cleaner could be at fault here since appearantly they don't guarantee 100% satisfaction, regardless of what the sign says. I think it is the amount in damages that is being sought, which has everyone laughing. The guy may entitled to $100 for his troubles, and the dry cleaner should be fined if they are indeed misleading customers. But that is all that should and will happen.

How on earth did this guy get to become a judge? Is the system that F'd up?

"An 89-year-old woman in a wheelchair told of being chased out of the cleaners by an angry owner... She compared the owners of Custom Cleaners in open court to Nazis.

'I knew it: It's all my fault,' said the reporter from German television."

I hope they shove those pants right up that judge's ass.

I guess Godwin's Law now applies to the courts as well as the internets.

This guy is F'in looney. This is just so mind boggling, however, I thought in civil cases everybody gets their day in court--insane or not. I sat on the jury in a civil trial that was just about on par with this one...smaller dollar amounts though...what a waste of a week.

Planet DC, home of the Marion Barry Exam for Public Service.

Unless you are a hooker.

Pearson has reduced his claim to $54 million. But he told the judge that he also wants to be awarded attorney's fees, even though he represents himself. He would like to be paid at a rate of between $390 and $425 an hour."

1,400 x $400 = $560,000

What a fucking douche....

If he wins, I'm going to start going to all the dry cleaners down here in Florida in the hopes of getting the wrong pants back.

I'll settle for way less out of court 1 million...I'll be rich!!! [evil laugh]

"The courtroom was packed with members of the Korean Dry Cleaners Association"

There's a KDCA? Seriously? Wow.

Or he's completely bat-shit insane and should be locked up in a small rubber room while the Chungs light his pants on fire in front of a paying audiance.

Could go either way.

You nailed it. Tort reform is a sham. No one thinks lawsuits like this are a good idea, but it's no excuse for removing one of the few protections that consumers have.

You're correct. From reading testimony and decisions from the judge in this case, it appears that she (the presiding judge) decided that he was going to continue to harass the legal system with this issue (and continue to harass the dry cleaners) until he got his day in court. She's been super-thorough through the entire trial and is taking the somewhat unusual step of issuing her ruling in written format, so that the Pants Jackass will have no grounds for appeal and so that every i is dotted and every t is crossed.

Regarding his generalized jackassery and apparent failure to understand even the most basic principles of law:

There's been a lot of chatter in the DC law lists that he might a) get fired, b) lose his law license, and/or c) face various other sanctions. The feeling in the DC and NoVA bars (my husband's a member of both) is that he's an embarassment and should clearly not be practicing law, let alone serving as any kind of judge.

On a totally different note, having read some of the testimony, I do seriously wonder if the man is mentally ill and in need of treatment. I know lawyers who, once offended, will be appeased by nothing less than a scorched-earth lawsuit that destroys the person who dared offend them. But this seems to go beyond that, particularly how he keeps trying to relitigate his divorce (Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?) in this courtroom and goes off on long rambling, disconnected diatribes about the law, policy, his testimony, etc.

And inability to follow a judge's instructions or take a judge's hints is a dangerous sign of disconnection from reality in a lawyer! ;)

I suspect that the judge is not suing for the money, but to put them out of business. Everyone always sues for a dollar amount, settles and then say they hope it will serve as a lesson to the offender. But I've always wondered why people don't sue 'evil' doctors and 'eco-villans' into bankruptcy and failed existence.

If he sued for the cost of the pants, the cleaner would likely be annoyed, but unaffected. I heard on the news that the judge filed a complaint to which the family did not respond, and thus the lawsuit for the $60+ million ensued.

It's worth pointing out that even if he won, they likely would not be able to pay him the requested amount. I doubt their insurance company would accept the ruling. It would most likely be appealed so that he didn't see any money anyway.

I think this one may be about principle.

So all cleaners that treat people rudely should be sued? The Chungs offered to replace the pants, plus money, and last I read before the case went to trial was an offer for $12K as compensation.

Let us know if that's not enough compensation for a pair of pants. They weren't made of vicuña after all.

I thought of what Hitler had done to thousands of Jews.

Little known fact: Hitler was in the dry cleaning business. He got his kicks out of losing the pants of his Jewish patrons.

Surely there must be a Godwin precedent somewhere in the legal system?

I think this is just silly though, crying over a pair of pants. He is in his 50s, right? I'm surprised he even complains over such a thing. I also don't see why it was 60m+ to begin with, and then lower to 54m, it is still a ridiculous charge.
He must especially hate these cleaners, and well with all that money he could just find some professional cleaning equipment instead of suing a poor cleaner's shop, so he wouldn't have to deal with them if he hates them so.

Or mebbe he's jus tryin to waste everybody's time and cause more backlogs in cases being overheard by the judge? A family member get in trouble with the law and is awaiting a judge trial?

All very suspicious unless of course he's lost it.

Interestingly enough, the judge's name is Judith:

TRIAL UPDATE: The Pearson v. Chung trial concluded on June 13, 2007. Presiding Judge Judith Bartnoff has indicated that she will produce a verdict sometime during the week of June 18, 2007.

So I guess, in a way, there is a Judge Judy presiding. Hopefully, she's just as mean :-)

Though I would love to see the television Judge Judy rip this guy a new one...

You've inspired me to create another LOLpeep:

[consumerist.proboards88.com]

Next he'll claim the pants were handed down to him from generations ago. Wonder if the pants have a "made in china" tag.

That my friends would make it funnier.

Maybe the judge can punish him by making him work at the dry cleaners. After being dis-barred of course.

How the hell do you cry over a pair of pants?!

Sort of like "give him enough rope and he'll hang himself" saying.

And it's true, he's the assclown of the week, making a mockery of himself and everything he stands for.

We need some type of vigilant justice crew, underground sort-of, to take care of this shit. No (neccessarily) to kill people. Just to back up a dump truck and pile 2 tons of used clothes on this guys front door in the middle of the night.

Or 100 people show up at his work and take their pants off and throw it at him. Prank call him nightly. Email him incessantly. Billboards. spraypaint. Fight club shit.

But they will use this asshole as an excuse. Sort of like how a racist will try to justify hating all Mexicans by focusing in on that one lazy, violent, drunken bum he met that banged his mother.

Understand?

but none are visible.

AND the comment script ate one of my comments on the Seattle lactose-intolerant raspberry-latte-sipping life-partners.

It sounds like they are well-represented. I can't imagine that the presiding judge is going to award this guy anything.

Just sayin'.

""Economically, emotionally, and health-wise as well, it's been extremely hard for us," Chung said through an interpreter as she broke down crying. It has cost tens of thousands of dollars to defend against the lawsuit, with a quarter of that covered by donations, a spokeswoman said."

Yikes. Where do I donate?

Source: [www.reuters.com]

I hope he gets disbarred, disrobed, and censured. What a world...what a world.....