Tort Reform anyone, this is fucking ridiculous

http://www.wral.com/news/strange/story/1377461/

5/3/2007 5:17:39 PM

blue and red pinstripes?

they sound like ugly pants.

5/3/2007 5:24:19 PM

things like this make me want to be a terrorist

5/3/2007 5:27:56 PM

this is one of those times when it should be ok to punch a federal official in the face

5/3/2007 5:28:28 PM

whatever... they'll recover costs, and this guy will get slapped around by any bar he's a member of.

5/3/2007 5:32:47 PM

its so stupid i cant even fathom it, i mean this sounds like an onion story but its real.

5/3/2007 5:34:43 PM

die.

5/3/2007 5:38:58 PM

John Grisham should write a novel about this. That judge is a serious douche bag.

Also did anyone else find these names funny?

Quote :

"Jin Nam Chung, Ki Chung and their son, Soo Chung"

5/3/2007 5:56:51 PM

It isn't often I feel like all record of a person's existence should be wiped off of this earth.

5/3/2007 6:05:29 PM

Quote :

"Manning said the cleaners made three settlement offers to Pearson. First they offered $3,000, then $4,600, then $12,000. But Pearson wasn't satisfied and expanded his calculations beyond one pair of pants. Because Pearson no longer wanted to use his neighborhood dry cleaner, part of his lawsuit calls for $15,000 - the price to rent a car every weekend for 10 years to go to another business. "He's somehow purporting that he has a constitutional right to a dry cleaner within four blocks of his apartment," Manning said. But the bulk of the $65 million comes from Pearson's strict interpretation of D.C.'s consumer protection law, which fines violators $1,500 per violation, per day. According to court papers, Pearson added up 12 violations over 1,200 days, and then multiplied that by three defendants. Much of Pearson's case rests on two signs that Custom Cleaners once had on its walls: "Satisfaction Guaranteed" and "Same Day Service." "

whata prick. the asshole suing to rent a car and drive to another dry cleaners is the best worst part

5/3/2007 6:06:03 PM

if there is any justice in this world, someone will turn that settlement around and make that asshole pay the dry cleaners for them having to put up with his stupid ass

5/3/2007 6:10:24 PM

When I read the article this morning I was just like

5/3/2007 6:37:54 PM

Quote :

"this is one of those times when it should be ok to punch SHOOT a federal official THAT ASSHOLE in the face"

5/3/2007 6:47:08 PM

just do what I do. yell at them until they write you a personal check for $100.

5/3/2007 6:49:09 PM

^

Quote :

"Manning said the cleaners made three settlement offers to Pearson. First they offered $3,000, then $4,600, then $12,000. But Pearson wasn't satisfied and expanded his calculations beyond one pair of pants. "

5/3/2007 6:56:47 PM

wtf how can he win a case like that?

5/3/2007 7:00:37 PM

wtf how can he bring a case like that?

(he hasn't won yet)

more tellingly, it is a JUDGE bringing a case like that, not some average joe after money, like the hundreds of other frivolous lawsuits out there.

i mean, the this is scary, considering that that's his sense of JUSTICE. and that's what he practices in his job, as a JUDGE.

he should have his balls cut off.

5/3/2007 7:09:22 PM

people love bringing up the first few amendments, but i think the one that's not incanted enough is the one about cruel and unusual punishment. obviously it is too broad a stroke to apply that to ridiculous lawsuits, but it comes to my mind everytime i see shit like this.

5/3/2007 7:24:09 PM

was this guy elected or appointed?

5/3/2007 7:30:22 PM

what a fucking dick, i think the koreans should file a counter-suit.

this dude should get debarred and thrown off the courts. shit like this is why i hate the US judicial system.

5/3/2007 7:36:45 PM

Quote :

"he should have his balls cut off."

for trying to argue through logic in the abortion thread that's a pretty dumbass statement to make

5/3/2007 8:58:27 PM

I read about this earlier. I can't imagine an official of the law pulling this shit. You hear all the time that judges can't stand people bringing pointless lawsuits to court and wasting their time and here is one of their own doing it. I hope he doesn't get renewed in his current position and I hope the judge laughs at him and throws this shit out of the courtroom. Hell I hope they award his pants to the drycleaners to just to drive the point in a lil more...they can hang them from their window so he can see them everyday

Quote :

"whata prick. the asshole suing to rent a car and drive to another dry cleaners is the best worst part"

AGREED...OMG I think this part made me more mad at this thoughtless assmunch then the rest of the article entirely.

5/3/2007 9:22:51 PM

I really think people shouldn't be allowed to make lawsuits like this. I think they should be able to sue for the money or damages they are owed and anything on top of that just goes to charity. Too many bastards are trying to get rich off of stupid shit.

5/3/2007 9:24:32 PM

This guy needs to be stripped of his title and made to pay compensation to this family. Not just the amount he sued them for, but also a little extra as punishment for his shear stupidity.

5/3/2007 9:36:48 PM

Quote :

"shit like this is why i hate the US judicial system people."

5/3/2007 10:29:24 PM

The worst part of it, is that a judge didnt throw it out. Its actually going to trial. Where a group of idiots will probably award him that money. Total waste of taxpayer and innocent peoples money.

5/3/2007 10:54:20 PM

the guy's profile

http://oah.dc.gov/oah/cwp/view,A,3,Q,604474.asp

5/3/2007 11:20:10 PM

if this wins it will become more ridiculous than the McDonald's Coffee fiasco.

5/3/2007 11:38:30 PM

i heard about this on the radio driving to work a couple days ago. it was one of those morning shows and they were ripping it apart. the show does a segment called 'real news that's real stupid', and it fell into that catagory. i thought it was funny.

5/3/2007 11:41:44 PM

is there really no clause in that consumer protection law saying the suit must be filed within some reasonable time limit? or some sort of limitation on the amount of the fines? holy shit.

5/3/2007 11:55:31 PM

Quote :

"f this wins it will become more ridiculous than the McDonald's Coffee fiasco."

oh yeah thats true, definitely

5/4/2007 12:05:55 AM

i used to feel the same way about the McD's thing... but apparently the temperature regulator on that particular coffeemaker was off she the woman got severe burns that fucked up her ladyparts or something. not just an unpleasant scald from what i hear.

5/4/2007 3:06:56 AM

I guess you could say, he's trying to take them to the cleaners.

5/4/2007 3:56:08 AM

you know theres a back story to this.


the case involved more than the guy... it said 3 others I think.

5/4/2007 6:59:45 AM

I think the only reason that there are three people is because there are three owners/workers in the dry cleaning business.

Quote :

"But the bulk of the $65 million comes from Pearson's strict interpretation of D.C.'s consumer protection law, which fines violators $1,500 per violation, per day. According to court papers, Pearson added up 12 violations over 1,200 days, and then multiplied that by three defendants."

Sounds like he thought to himself... "I can raise the total if I multiply by the number of owners of the business."

I guess it goes without saying that every place of business within 100 miles of this idiot's house should be afraid of this guy enough to refuse to do business with him.

5/4/2007 7:21:19 AM

^ he'd sue for not serving him at Burger King cuz he couldn't "Have it 'his' way"

5/4/2007 8:48:53 AM

^omg! brilliant! i'm going to see my lawyer now. brb

5/4/2007 8:49:49 AM

Quote :

"i used to feel the same way about the McD's thing... but apparently the temperature regulator on that particular coffeemaker was off she the woman got severe burns that fucked up her ladyparts or something. not just an unpleasant scald from what i hear."

Unless the coffee was over 200 degF, I don't see how the thermostat was operating improperly.

I remember mcdonalds saying that it wasn't supposed to be that hot, but hell, starbucks coffee is 200 degF all the time.

[Edited on May 4, 2007 at 8:52 AM. Reason : h]

5/4/2007 8:51:39 AM

Having delt with asian dry cleaners, I can understand why he'd do this.

5/4/2007 8:57:31 AM

^ It was actually. The coffee was over 212F because it's under some amount of pressure (much like a pot on a stove with a good lid- higher pressure = slightly higher boiling point), and WAY over the safe temperature to serve to a customer. She got 2nd and 3rd degree burns from it, and originally asked McDonalds for only the exact cost of her medical bills and they refused to settle out of court.

There was more to that story than there appeared.

This one however, is fucktarded.

5/4/2007 8:59:18 AM

Unless the mcdonalds employee spilled the coffee on her lap or it melted through the cup, it is still bullshit. The lady spilled it on herself and wants to make someone else take the blame for it. Hell, I could even see it being ok if she took a huge drink of it and burned the shit out of her mouth.

5/4/2007 9:30:13 AM

what's this thing called "personal responsibility?"

5/4/2007 10:43:53 AM

^^ and didn't she spill it on her crotch while driving?

from what i remember, she rested the coffee between her legs while driving.

5/4/2007 3:48:56 PM

Quote :

"personal responsibility"

nope if something bad happens it is someone else's fault.

5/4/2007 4:35:47 PM

What's the over/under on this guy's penis size?

3.5 inches?

5/4/2007 5:05:52 PM

^^it's the american way

5/4/2007 5:07:06 PM

Just stab yourself, then sue that the knife was too sharp. The mcdonalds thing was BS, and it started the whole, wow I can sue for being a dumbass, and get rich.

What needs to happen is that if a judge decides a case is frivolous. The plantiff and the plantiffs lawyer have to pay. I dont fault people for being idiots, but someone who actually knows the law should have some damn sense, right now the lawyers have nothing to lose. They have better odds of getting striking it rich than buying a lottery ticket.

5/4/2007 7:25:49 PM

the point of the mcd's case was that the coffee was served at an unsafe temp. she suffered 3rd degree burns. think. that's to the bone. you want to drink coffee that will burn your skin and tissue off? yeah she might have been a dumbass for "spilling" the coffee on herself, but whatever happened to consumer protection. the knife analogy doesn't work here because it's common knowledge knives are sharp. it's common knowledge that coffee is hot, but please tell me who believes their coffee is going to give them 3rd degree burns. when it came down to it, mcd's was completely negligent in serving the coffee.

5/4/2007 7:43:19 PM

Quote :

"but please tell me who believes their coffee is going to give them 3rd degree burns."

Well, I would assume that most people would assume it will give them a damn nasty burn. Combined with the fact that hot liquids that are kept pressed to the skin (i.e. via clothing) and not allowed to ventalate steam (i.e. in the crotch) will cause extremely severe burns. 3rd degree would not suprise me at all. But then, I don't go sticking cups of boiling liquid in my crotch.

Edit:
--------------

BTW for your reference:

Quote :

"It is well documented that when human skin reaches 119F, a first-degree burn will result; 131F will produce a second-degree burn; and 150F will give a third-degree burn."

Quote :

"This corresponds to the fact that human skin must be exposed to 160F for 60 seconds or 180F for 30 seconds or 212F for 15 seconds to produce a second-degree burn.""

http://www.firehouse.com/magazine/archives/1998/September/tools.html

Quote :

"Variables Attributable to Third Degree Burn* Water Temp. (F°) Exposure time 120 9.5 minutes 125 2.0 minutes 130 30 seconds 140 15 seconds 150 1.8 seconds 158 1.0 seconds *From studies conducted by Lewis & Love (1926; Wu. Yung-Chi, N.B.S. (1972); Dr. M.A. Stoll, for U.S. Navy (1979)"

http://www.thermomegatech.com/brochure/ThermoMix_Station.pdf?PHPSESSID=f500b623e9b6e

Quote :

"Ideal serving temperature: 155ºF to 175ºF (70ºC to 80ºC) Many of the volatile aromatics in coffee have boiling points above 150ºF (65ºC). They simply are not perceived when coffee is served at lower temperatures."

Quote :

"deal holding temperature: 175ºF to 185ºF (80ºC to 85ºC) Most all the volatile aromatics in coffee have boiling points well below that of water and continue to evaporate from the surface until pressure in the serving container reaches equilibrium. A closed container can slow the process of evaporation."

http://www.bunnomatic.com/pages/coffeebasics/cb6holding.html


Wanna bet when she spilled the coffee it was in contact with her crotch for longer than the 1.8 seconds it would take to develop third degree burns?

[Edited on May 4, 2007 at 9:35 PM. Reason : numbers]

5/4/2007 9:23:17 PM

Quote :

"* Third-degree burns additionally have charring of the skin, and produce hard, leather-like eschars. An eschar is a scab that has separated from the unaffected part of the body. Frequently, there is also purple fluid. These types of burns are often painless because nerve endings have been destroyed in the involved areas. Burns that injure the tissues underlying the skin, such as the muscles or bones, are sometimes categorized as fourth-degree burns. These burns are additionally broken down into three additional degrees: fourth-degree burns result in the skin being irretrievably lost, fifth-degree burns result in muscle being irretrievably lost, and sixth-degree burns result in bone being charred."

Third isn't to the bone, not even close.

Scalding would be a much better term.


[Edited on May 4, 2007 at 9:28 PM. Reason : t]

5/4/2007 9:27:27 PM