Below The Beltway

The trial is over, but the judge won’t decide the case of Roy Pearson’s pants until next week:

Don’t look for Roy Pearson to be out shopping for new suit pants this weekend. At the end of the $54 million pants suit in D.C. Superior Court yesterday, Judge Judith Bartnoff said she wouldn’t issue a decision until next week, but nonetheless gave a strong hint of her direction.

After listening to Pearson argue for hour upon hour that he was somehow protecting the interests of all Washingtonians by using the D.C. consumer protection law to punish Custom Cleaners for allegedly losing a pair of his pants, Bartnoff said: “This is a very important statue to protect consumers. It’s also very important that statutes like this are not misused.”

That’s a judge’s way of saying you’re gonna lose this case buddy. But that’s only the beginning If there is any justice in this world, then two things need to happen. First, Roy Pearson needs to be held responsible for the Chung family’s attorneys fees in this case. Second, he needs to be disciplined by the D.C. Bar.

There’s no way someone like this should be practicing law:

This is a man who, despite his soft voice and polite demeanor, told the court yesterday that “there is no case in the District of Columbia or in the United States that comes anywhere close to the outrageousness of the behavior of the defendants in this case.”

The terrible crime the Chung family, owners of Custom Cleaners, are accused of is not only misplacing Pearson’s pants — either for a few days, as the Chungs contend, or permanently, as Pearson claims — but posting a “Satisfaction Guaranteed” sign and then refusing Pearson’s demand for vast sums of money.

Pearson is, according to the Chungs’ lawyer, Christopher Manning, “a bitter man, emotionally distressed . . . who has irrationally and uncompromisingly pursued this litigation. He wanted the Chungs to suffer.”

(…)

Pearson said he had no choice but to sue because he is a “private attorney general” standing up for every person in Washington. Pearson told the judge he wants $500,000 in attorney’s fees (though he represents himself), $2 million for his “discomfort, inconvenience and mental distress,” and another $51.5 million that he would use to help any D.C. resident sue businesses just as Pearson has. (Just before trial, Pearson lowered his demand from $65 million.)

Nonetheless, it’s not just Roy Pearson’s fault, his case is testimony to what’s wrong with civil litigation today. And especially what’s wrong with D.C. Superior Court:

How does such a case get to trial? How does one man get to make a laughingstock of the system? Judges chipped away at Pearson’s case for two years, limiting the witnesses he could call, trimming his claims. But Pearson prevailed by burying the court in paperwork and bringing up arguments just plausible enough to allow him a hearing. Nobody wants to be on the wrong end of a Pearson lawsuit; that fear lets him charge ahead.

There’s really ony one way that this case should end. Roy Pearson should lose. Not just this case, but his job and his license to practice. The Chung’s should get their attorney’s fees back.

And, yeah, maybe Roy should get his pants back…..if he wants them that is.

Previous Posts:

The Case Of The $ 65 Million Pants
The Case Of The $ 65 Million Pants, Part II
Because, You Know, $ 9 Million Makes All The Difference
A Frivolous Case Goes To Trial
Even Pants Get Their Day In Court