Judge Chose Desperate Irrationality

Judge in $54M pants suit will file an appeal
Aug 15, 2007 8:11 AM
Scott McCabe, DC Examiner

WASHINGTON - It looks like the pants suit still has legs. Roy Pearson, the administrative law judge who lost his $54 million lawsuit centered on a pair of lost trousers, filed a notice on Wednesday to appeal a D.C. Circuit judge’s verdict against him, meaning the legal battle could drag on for at least a few more months.

Pearson’s filing also rejects a peace offering by the dry cleaners, who on Monday filed a motion dropping their demand for $80,000 to pay for their attorney fees. Custom Cleaners owners Jin Nam Chung and Soo Chung said they hoped Pearson would follow suit and drop his appeal. They said they just want to return to their normal lives.

The D.C. Court of Appeals will set a brief hearing in the next few months for the parties to argue their positions.

The Chungs’ attorney, Christopher Manning, said the couple was baffled by Pearson’s appeal.

“Mr. Pearson, unfortunately, chose desperate irrationality over common sense,” Manning said, “unnecessarily costing the parties more wasted time and the D.C. taxpayers more wasted money.”

It’s not the first time Pearson has rejected the Chungs. Shortly before trial, he rejected their offer of $12,000 for the pair of pants. Pearson instead pursued the trial, where he claimed the case was the worst case of fraud “in recorded history.”

After the two-day trial, Superior Court Judge Judith Barnoff found that Pearson never proved that the dry cleaners violated the spirit of their “Satisfaction Guaranteed” sign.

Now, Pearson could lose his job on the bench of the D.C. Office of Administrative Hearings. A commission last week told Pearson his $100,000 job on the bench is in jeopardy.