Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Verdict Reached in Roy Pearson v. Custom Cleaners Trial

Judge Judith Bartnoff has ruled in a 23-page opinion that Roy Pearson
is not entitled to any relief whatsoever on his claims under the CPPA, Counts One and Four of his Amended Complaint.

Hooray! This means that Pearson gets nothing! NOTHING!

The ruling goes on to say
The Court's analysis of the plaintiff's CPPA claims applies as well to his claims of common law fraud in Count Two of the Amended Complaint. The plaintiff acknowledges that he is required to prove those claims by clear, convincing and unequivocal evidence. He has not proven those claims by a preponderance of the evidence, let alone by that higher standard. Judgment therefore will be awarded to the defendants, as well as their costs.

Justice!

Not only does Pearson get nothing, he must pay the defendants' costs!

I have not yet learned what is happening with Count Three, and I do not know the specifics of that count. If newsworthy, however, I will follow-up!

This is a real victory for jurisprudence.

Read Marc Fisher's article here. Fisher is the washingtonpost.com writer who broke the case in the media.

This is the AP article (reprinted without permission):
Verdict Reached in $54 Million Pants Suit
June 25, 2007 - 11:54am

WASHINGTON - A judge ruled Monday in favor of a dry cleaner that was sued for $54 million over a missing pair of pants.

The owners of Custom Cleaners did not violate the city's Consumer Protection Act by failing to live up to Roy L. Pearson's expectations of the "Satisfaction Guaranteed" sign once displayed in the store window, District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff ruled.

Bartnoff ordered Pearson to pay the court costs of defendants Soo Chung, Jin Nam Chung and Ki Y. Chung.

Pearson, an administrative law judge, originally sought $67 million from the Chungs, claiming they lost a pair of suit trousers and later tried to give him a pair that he said was not his. He arrived at the amount by adding up years of alleged law violations and almost $2 million in common law claims.

Pearson later dropped demands for damages related to the pants and focused his claims on signs in the shop, which have since been removed.

Chris Manning, the Chungs' attorney, argued that no reasonable person would interpret the signs to mean an unconditional promise of satisfaction.

The Chungs said the trial had taken an enormous financial and emotional toll on them and exposed them to widespread ridicule.

The two-day trial earlier this month drew a standing-room-only crowd and overshadowed the drunken driving trial of former Mayor Marion Barry.

The owners of Custom Cleaners did not violate the city's Consumer Protection Act by failing to live up to Roy L. Pearson's expectations of the "Satisfaction Guaranteed" sign once displayed in the store window, District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff ruled.

Bartnoff ordered Pearson to pay the court costs of defendants Soo Chung, Jin Nam Chung and Ki Y. Chung.

Pearson, an administrative law judge, originally sought $67 million from the Chungs, claiming they lost a pair of suit trousers and later tried to give him a pair that he said was not his. He arrived at the amount by adding up years of alleged law violations and almost $2 million in common law claims.

Pearson later dropped demands for damages related to the pants and focused his claims on signs in the shop, which have since been removed.

Chris Manning, the Chungs' attorney, argued that no reasonable person would interpret the signs to mean an unconditional promise of satisfaction.

The Chungs said the trial had taken an enormous financial and emotional toll on them and exposed them to widespread ridicule.

The two-day trial earlier this month drew a standing-room-only crowd and overshadowed the drunken driving trial of former Mayor Marion Barry.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


Thank you Judge Bartnoff for restoring my faith in our judicial system.

I hope the supervisor of Administrative Law Judges in the District of Columbia will now grow a testicle and terminate the employment of Pearson on the grounds that he is unable to use common sense when interpreting the law and is unfit to dispense any level of justice in the United States.


Dick Mac Recommends:

The Divine Comedy
Dante Alighieri







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