As of today, the legal defense fund for Custom Cleaners in Washington, D.C. is up and running.  For those unfamiliar with Custom Cleaners, they are the dry cleaners being sued by a customer for $67 million dollars over a pair of pants.  As if that’s not bad enough, it gets worse, much worse.  Although the owners, Jin Nam and Soo Chung, admit initially misplacing the pants, they found them several days later, but the customer still wasn’t satisfied.  They even offered to replace the pants, but the customer demanded a new suit and kept increasing his demands and eventually sued.  Through their attorney, the Chungs repeatedly attempted to ward off the lawsuit, which has continually grown for the past two years, by making repeated offers to settle, reaching as high as $12,000.  The customer still wasn’t satisfied.  Instead, he feels he is entitled to $67,292,000 which includes emotional damages ($500,000), legal fees ($542,000), ten years of car rentals to drive to a different cleaners ($15,000), and just for good measure, he wants the Chungs to be fined $1,500 per violation per day that they had signs on their walls offering “Same Day Service” and “Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed” ($1500 per violation x 12 violations x 1200 days = $21,600,000).  Oh yeah, and he wants these violations to be multiplied by three, because after all, including their son, there are three Chungs ($21,600,000 x 3 = $64,800,000).

By now, you may be wondering how someone convinces an attorney to represent him in this suit which has grown to include thousands of pages of legal documents, a witness list of 63 people, and an attempt to expand the case to a class action suit.  It’s not so difficult when you represent yourself.  Worse, Roy Pearson is not only a member of the bar he’s also a sitting judge.  ATRA, the American Tort Reform Association, feels that the size and scope of this $67 million lawsuit over a single pair of pants is clear demonstration of Judge Roy Pearson’s inability to demonstrate “appropriate judicial temperament” and should not have his term, which expires this year, renewed.

However, whether or not Judge Pearson’s position is renewed, or whether or not his lawsuit is eventually dismissed, its effect on the Chungs, Korean immigrants, has already taken its toll.  “I’ve been in the dry cleaning business for 14 years, but this has never ever happened before. If anything happened to our customers’ clothing, we would always compensate them accordingly and fairly,” explained owner, Jin Nam Chung. “It’s affecting us, first of all financially, because of all the lawyers’ fees,” he continued.  His wife, Soo Chung tearfully added, “I would have never thought it would have dragged on this long.  I don’t want to live here anymore.  It’s been so difficult.  I just want to go home, go back to Korea.” And who can blame them?  “It’s incredibly preposterous that he’s [Judge Roy Pearson] making so much out of something so insignificant,” said their attorney, Chris Manning. Fortunately, an overwhelming number of supporters have contacted Manning, of Manning and Sossamon, PLLC, that they have established a legal defense fund site where concerned citizens can offer support through PayPal or contact the Chungs with words of encouragement. 

www.customcleanersdefensefund.com