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 law 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.
"A reasonable consumer would not interpret 'Satisfaction
Guaranteed' to mean that a merchant is required to satisfy a
customer's unreasonable demands" or to agree to demands that the
merchant would have reasonable grounds for disputing, the judge
wrote.
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 trousers from a blue
and maroon suit, then tried to give him a pair a pair of charcoal
gray pants that he said were not his. He arrived at the amount by
adding up years of alleged law violations and almost $2 million in
common law fraud claims.
Bartnoff wrote, however, that Pearson failed to prove that the
pants the dry cleaner tried to return were not the pants he taken
in for alterations.
Pearson later dropped demands for damages related to the pants and
focused his claims on signs in the shop, which have since been
removed.
The court costs amount to just over $1,000 for photocopying, filing
and similar expenses, according to the Chungs' attorney. A motion
to recover the Chungs' tens of thousands of dollars in attorney
fees will be considered later.
Chris Manning, the Chungs' attorney, praised the ruling, which
followed a two-day trial earlier this month.
"Judge Bartnoff has spoken loudly in suggesting that, while
consumers should be protected, abusive lawsuits like this will not
be tolerated," Manning said in a statement. "Judge Bartnoff has
chosen common sense and reasonableness over irrationality and
unbridled venom."
Pearson did not immediately respond to a call and an e-mail seeking
comment.
At least this judge has some sense in him 