Griffs Notes 6/8/07

Well, he’s dropped his pants but the very real lawsuit abuse continues… and it all kicks off on Monday - or so it was supposed to... it appears the trial has been moved to Tuesday/

DC Judge Roy L. Pearson Jr. who originally brought his outrageous $67 million lawsuit against a Korean family-owned dry cleaners has dropped his claim to $54 million and trial starts at 9:15a on Tuesday morning – and I will be there at the DC Superior Court.

According to Pearson, he has decided to drop the actual loss of the pants themselves (the Chung family was prepared to present a pair of pants that they believe are the actual lost pair) and focus on the “false advertising” aspect of the case – which is apparently worth $54 million.

So now, we at least know that the Judge valued his pants at $13 million!

Under the DC Consumer Protection Act, Judge Pearson believes the Chungs committed fraud and falsely advertised their services based on two signs that were in the shop at the time of the original transaction: “Satisfaction Guaranteed” and “Same Day Service.”

I spoke yesterday with Chung family attorney Chris Manning who told me that he felt Judge Pearson seems to be determined in harassing his clients who have suffered legal costs in the “upper tens of thousands of dollars.”

As a sidebar to this case, Judge Pearson (who is on administrative leave) is being considered for re-appointment to a 10-year term as an administrative hearing judge. No word on that from the tight-lipped court officials. And my calls and emails to Pearson have not been returned.

So get ready for the circus coming to DC – to which I have procured an outrageous pair of pants to wear at the trial myself as a social commentary on the frivolous nature of the case.

But it’s important to remember that there is a serious side to this case as well – the Chungs moved here in pursuit of the American dream many years ago and opened up a successful dry cleaners only to see their small fortunes evaporate at the hands of a vindictive legal official.

If you interested in helping – there is a website set up to help the Chungs offset legal costs with donations from the public. (www.customcleanersdefensefund.com)

I can be reached for questions or comments at Griffsnotes@foxnews.com.