Just when you thought lawyers couldn't sink any lower, along comes Roy Pearson, the bottom feeder of all bottom feeders. This creep, an Administrative Judge for the District of Columbia, is pursuing a personal lawsuit against a hard working Korean immigrant family which has turned their American dream into a horrible nightmare. Instead of going into the details of this case, I am going to look at the two parties in this lawsuit.
THE DEFENDANTS. Jim Nam Chung and Soo Chung, together with their son Ki Chung, own and operate three mom-and-pop "Custom Dry Cleaners" shops in the D.C. area. In 1992, they arrived in the United States as legal immigrants from Korea. Although practically penniless, by working 18 hours a day, they achieved the American dream of owning their own business.
Their business slogans, "Same Day Service" and "Satisfaction Guaranteed" are at the heart of the litigation which dates back to 2005. The lawsuit was initiated by Judge Pearson because the Chungs lost the pants of the suit he intended to wear on his first day in office. The Chungs found the pants several days later, but Pearson denied they were his and refused to accept them. He demanded $1,000 for replacement of the suit which the Chungs refused to pay. That's why Pearson filed his lawsuit.
Desiring to settle, the Chungs offered Pearson $3,000, then $4,000, and eventually $12,000, but he turned down each offer. So far, after two years of pre-trial motions, depositions, and other procedures, the Chungs are already out thousands of dollars in legal fees, and the trial has only just begun. There is no telling how much more this lawsuit is going to cost them. The Chungs are so disillusioned with this country and its judical system, that they are contemplating returning to Korea once this mess is over and done with.
THE PLAINTIFF. Roy Pearson, an African-American, is a graduate of the Northwestern University law school. Prior to his appointment as an Administrative Judge, he had been a practicing legal aid lawyer in the D.C. area. When he received his appointment to the bench, Pearson was broke and had just been divorced.
Pearson claims that when the Chungs failed to deliver on their business slogans by failing to satisfy him and by failing to have his pants ready the same day, they were committing consumer fraud. On behalf of all Custom Dry Cleaners customers, he filed a motion to have his case declared a class action lawsuit. That motion was rejected by the court. Pearson initially sued the Chungs for $65 million. He announced he was acting in the interest of all city residents against poor business practices.
By claiming fraud, Pearson calculated that according to D.C. consumer protection laws, he was entitled to $1,500 per violation per day for 12 separate violations over 1,200 days times three people for a total of $64.8 million. Because he no longer wanted to patronize the Chungs' shop in his neighborhood, it was worth another $15,000 for the cost to rent a car every weekend for 10 years to take his suits to another dry cleaner. Before the start of the trial, Pearson reduced his claim to $54 million.
So there you have the two parties to what would seem to be a frivolous law suit. On one side you have three hard working legal immigrants, penniless upon their arrival in this country, working 18 hours a day to achieve the American dream, who are being persecuted by our legal system. On the other side you have a bottom feeding leech, penniless before his appointment as a judge, trying to get rich off a mom-and-pop business in a trivial dispute over a pair of pants. What a glaring example of the depth to which our legal system has sunk.
By the way, Pearson is representing himself. Reminds me of that old saying - a lawyer who represesnts himself has a fool for a client.
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