Trial Lawyers Decry Judge's $65M Pants Suit
Often a target itself of claims by big business that it promotes frivolous litigation, a well-known American trial lawyer group is now pointing the finger at someone else.
A Washington, D.C., judge who reportedly filed a $65 million lawsuit against his local dry cleaner for temporarily misplacing his suit pants should be investigated by professional disciplinary authorities over this apparent “serious abuse of the civil justice system,” the American Association for Justice says in a today in a press release and accompanying letter to the District of Columbia Bar Association. They are not yet posted on the AAJ’s Web site, but AAJ representatives confirmed in phone calls that the documents were issued by their organization.
Today’s letter, signed by AAJ CEO Jon Haber, urges the D.C. Bar to investigate and “take appropriate disciplinary action” against District of Columbia Administrative Law Judge Roy Pearson Jr. for “actions inconsistent with the oath and office of our learned profession. Based on media reports, it appears that the judge “has maintained his action over a two-year period, filed thousands of pages in documents and made damage claims that appear to be farfetched and unjustified,” Haber writes. “Moreover, it appears that Mr. Pearson’s actions in this matter are consistent with his behavior in prior legal disputes, where he has followed courses of action both that appear both vexatious and disproportionate to any legitimate claim.”
A defense fund has been established for the couple who own the dry cleaner business, and in a separate letter today to the AAJ board of governors, AAJ President Lewis S. “Mike” Eidson says he and Haber have personally contributed.
