Judge loses €40m lost trousers claim

A US judge today ruled in favour of a South Korean dry cleaner who was sued for €40m over a missing pair of trousers in a case that garnered international attention and renewed calls for litigation reform.

The owners of Custom Cleaners did not violate the city’s consumer protection act by failing to live up to Roy Pearson’s expectations of the “Satisfaction Guaranteed” sign that was once placed in the store window, District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff ruled.

Bartnoff ordered Pearson to pay the court costs of just over €740 to defendants Soo Chung, Jin Nam Chung and Ki Y. Chung.

A motion to recover the tens of thousands of dollars they spent in attorney fees will be considered later.

Pearson, an administrative law judge, originally sought €49m from the Chungs after he claimed they lost a pair of trousers from a blue and maroon suit.

He arrived at the amount by adding up years of law violations and almost €1.5m in common law claims for fraud.