Razumich & Delamater - January 2020

DEFENDING YOUR RIGHTS, FIGHTING FOR YOU www.lawyersreadytofight.com 317-934-9725

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Desks of Razumich & Delamater PAGE 1 How to Upgrade Your New Year’s Resolutions PAGE 1 The Sweetest Crime in History PAGE 2 Meet the World’s First Airport Therapy Pig PAGE 3 Take a Break PAGE 3 Simple Pancakes From Scratch PAGE 3 The Curious Case of Roy Pearson’s Pants PAGE 4 After losing an article of clothing from a dry cleaner, most would say“c’est la vie”andmove on. At most, someone might leave a bad review and ask for a few dollars to cover the loss, but for one administrative law judge, that wasn’t enough. He decided instead to launch an all-out legal battle. Roy Pearson, aWashington, D.C., judge at the time, sought $54 million to cover the loss of his pants after his dry cleaner lost them. He argued that the“same-day service”sign located in the window of the dry cleaners meant that the company had to provide same-day service. However, Pearson never specified a specific time he needed his clothes returned. He also insisted that the“satisfaction guaranteed”signmeant that the cleaners had to satisfy a customer’s wishes without limit. Based on those arguments, he claimed the signs were fraudulent.

SOLUTION

WHO WEARS THE PANTS? LADY JUSTICE! HOW ONE JUDGE LOST A FRIVOLOUS LAWSUIT AND HIS DIGNITY

put it, Pearson “failed to conduct an objective appraisal of the legal merits of his position. He made and continues tomake arguments that no reasonable attorney would think had even a faint hope of success on the legal merits.” From a legal standpoint, we’d call this judge’s behavior “dissatisfaction guaranteed.”

After the initial allegations, the dry cleaners scoured their business to find the pants and, to their credit, found the judge’s trousers untarnished. Even so, Pearson argued that he didn’t need to prove the pants were lost or damaged to satisfy his “satisfaction guaranteed” claim. Unfortunately for the judge, the court found his position to be ridiculous and ordered him to pay the dry cleaner’s attorneys’fees. In response, Pearson sought that his own attorneys’fees be covered to oppose this motion. In the end, Pearson did pay the dry cleaner’s legal fees, but the case isn’t the only thing he lost. The verdict also cost the judge his job and any semblance of professional dignity. Ten years after the case closed, the District of Columbia Board on Professional Responsibility sought a 90-day suspension. As the board

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