$65 Million Pants

You have to read it to believe it!
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Article from the April 26, 2007 edition of the Washington Post:

When the neighborhood dry cleaner misplaced Roy Pearson's pants, he took action. He complained. He demanded compensation. And then he sued. Man, did he sue.

Two years, thousands of pages of legal documents and many hundreds of hours of investigative work later, Pearson is seeking to make Custom Cleaners pay -- would you believe more than the payroll of the entire Washington Nationals roster?

He says he deserves millions for the damages he suffered by not getting his pants back, for his litigation costs, for "mental suffering, inconvenience and discomfort," for the value of the time he has spent on the lawsuit, for leasing a car every weekend for 10 years and for a replacement suit, according to court papers.

Pearson is demanding $65,462,500. The original alteration work on the pants cost $10.50.

By the way, Pearson is a lawyer. Okay, you probably figured that. But get this: He's a judge, too -- an administrative law judge for the District of Columbia.

I'm telling you, they need to start selling tickets down at the courthouse.

Read the rest. The part about Pearson's being paid for renting a car for the next ten years is not to be missed.

Let the lawyer jokes begin!

But, seriously, this case is more evidence of how litigation-mad America has begun. No pair of pants in this world is worth $65 million.

Doesn't a judge in the District of Columbia have something better to do?