Infamous "Pants Judge" Files a New Personal Injury Lawsuit
By: Gerri L. Elder
The ridiculous personal injury lawsuit that just won't seem to go away appears to be rearing its ugly head again in a new reincarnation while the original personal injury case is still waiting to be heard in an appeals court.
Who could forget Roy Pearson? Many may not remember his name, but once the personal injury case that he is best known for is mentioned, eyes begin to roll. Pearson is the former Washington D.C. administrative law judge who sued a family-owned dry cleaner for $64 million, then lowered his demand to a mere $54 million, because he says that they lost his pants.
This "lost pants" personal injury lawsuit went on and on while Pearson seemed oblivious to the fact that he was flushing his reputation and career down the toilet. It is truly the type of personal injury lawsuit that gives personal injury lawsuits a bad name.
No pants are worth $64 million, or even $54 million, no matter what they are made from or the circumstances of their alleged disappearance. Pearson's personal injury claim against the dry cleaners hinged on a customer satisfaction assurance posted inside the store. The judge in the case found that honestly, there was no making Pearson satisfied and that the dry cleaners were not responsible for the pants Pearson says they lost.
Incidentally, the dry cleaners did return a pair of pants to Pearson, but Pearson adamantly claims that they were not the same pants that he had taken in to have cleaned. Pearson not only lost this Washington personal injury case but also the pants he still claims were lost. He was not reappointed after his term as an administrative judge expired.
CNN reports that Pearson is now headed back to court, not as a judge, but again as a plaintiff. He has filed another Washington, D.C. personal injury lawsuit-this time against the city-alleging that he was victimized by "unlawful demotion and subsequent termination."
During Pearson's pants lawsuit, the city panel that decides reappointments notified Pearson that his status was under review. For many this would have probably been a red flag to can the ridiculous public behavior, but Pearson failed to take the not-so-subtle hint and was not reappointed.
Refusing to let the pants case go, Pearson has filed an appeal with the D.C. Court of Appeals and the notion of complete and utter unconditional customer satisfaction will again be entertained in a courtroom later this year.
In Pearson's new Washington personal injury lawsuit, he not only seeks to regain his $100,000 per year position as an administrative law judge but is also asking to be awarded compensatory and punitive damages in excess of $1 million. He is acting as his own Washington personal injury lawyer in the case and is reportedly relying on the "Whistle-blower Protection" law to try to prove that he was the victim of illegal retaliation.
We'd wish him good luck, but that would be us just blowing smoke!