In what has become the butt of countless jokes and has made a spectacle of the American justice system, Roy Pearson’s suit for $54 million (reduced from his original request for $67 million) against the owners of a Washington, D.C., dry cleaner has been resoundingly defeated. Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff ruled on June 25 in favor of Jin Nam and Soo Chung, owners of Custom Cleaners.

Pearson, who claimed that the Chungs misplaced a pair of pants he gave them to dry clean, filed his case under the D.C. consumer protection law, stating they failed to live up to the “Satisfaction Guaranteed” sign posted in their business.

“A reasonable consumer would not interpret ‘Satisfaction Guaranteed’ to mean that a merchant is required to satisfy a customer’s unreasonable demands,” Bartnoff wrote in her decision.

In a press conference outside Custom Cleaners, the Chungs’ attorney, Christopher Manning, spoke of the “gut-wrenching” toll the ordeal took on the family and called the ruling a “great day for justice.” With their daughter-in-law translating, the Chungs said they’re happy with the results.

Pearson, a D.C. administrative law judge up for reappointment, was ordered to pay clerical court costs of approximately $1,000 to the defendants. Judge Bartnoff will rule at a later date whether Pearson will also be required to pay the Chung’s attorney fees, estimated in the tens of thousands of dollars.

 

-Nina Ahn