First His Pants, Now His Job

It has been confirmed that the judge who sued a small, family-owned dry cleaning company for $67 million for losing his pants is no longer a judge according to the AP:

“Roy Pearson's term as an administrative law judge expired May 2 and the D.C. Commission on Selection and Tenure of Administrative Law Judges has voted not to reappoint him, Lisa Coleman, the city's general counsel, wrote Nov. 8 in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from The Associated Press.”

Obviously, the commission’s refusal to reappoint Mr. Pearson, who cried about his lost trousers on the witness stand, has something to do with the fact that he has a become a poster boy for frivolous lawsuits and the need for tort reform.

This is a laughable case, though I’m sure it is no joking matter to the Chungs, a family of South Korean immigrants who own the business Mr. Pearson sued. If there is a silver-lining in this story it is how people have rallied to the Chungs’ defense. This past July there was a fund-raiser for the Chungs hosted by The American Tort Reform Association and the Institute for Legal Reform of the United States Chamber of Commerce at which it was announced that $64,000 had been raised up to that point.

Unfortunately, this case is not over for the Chungs, as Pearson is expected to appeal the decision.