Judge in Pants Case Rules in Favor of Dry Cleaners

D.C. Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff has ruled in favor of the defendants in the $54 million pants lawsuit. According to the ruling, the plaintiff, administrative law judge Roy Pearson, will get nothing from the defendants, the Chung family, owners of Custom Cleaners. The Chungs will also be awarded costs, and plan to seek compensation for attorneys fees.

Bartnoff found that "nothing in the law supports (the) position" that Pearson took on the issue of the "Satisfaction Guaranteed" sign that had hung inside Custom Cleaners -- Pearson had tried to argue that in the event of a dispute, a dry cleaner must pay the customer whatever the customer claims their item is worth if there is a “Satisfaction Guaranteed” sign in the store, even if the dry cleaner knows the customer is mistaken or lying.

The ruling brings to a close a rather embarrassing trial for the D.C. Superior Court, which found itself at the center of a worldwide media frenzy at the sheer ridiculousness of the lawsuit -- an administrative law judge's claims that he deserved $67 million (later reduced to $54 million) for a pair of misplaced pants. At the close of arguments a little over a week ago, the Chungs' attorney, Chris Matthews Manning, said that should the verdict go their way, he expects Pearson to appeal. We can all only hope he locates enough common sense to choose not to.