Judge loses 27 million pound dry-cleaning case

By Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A judge in the U.S. capital lost his $54 million (27 million pounds) lawsuit on Monday against a dry cleaner over a pair of misplaced trousers in a case that became a symbol of the United States' lawsuit-happy legal system.

Roy L. Pearson, an administrative law judge in Washington, claimed that a "satisfaction guaranteed" sign in Custom Cleaners misled consumers who, like him, were dissatisfied with their experience.

The judge hearing the case ruled that Pearson did not interpret that sign in a reasonable fashion.

"A reasonable consumer would not interpret 'Satisfaction Guaranteed' to mean that a merchant is required to satisfy a customer's unreasonable demands," D.C. Judge Judith Bartnoff wrote.

Pearson must pay several thousand dollars in filing fees and other court costs incurred by the defendants, Bartnoff ruled.

The Chung family will also ask the judge to require Pearson to pay their legal bills, a sum defence attorney Christopher Manning said amounts to more than $100,000.

The case has drawn international media coverage, especially from the Chungs' native South Korea, and widespread ridicule within the United States.

"It's been a very difficult two years," owner Soo Chung said through an interpreter at a news conference outside her store in the city's Fort Lincoln neighbourhood.