Judge Sues Dry Cleaners for $65 Million

WASHINGTON -- The Chungs, immigrants from South Korea, realized their American dream when they opened their dry-cleaning business seven years ago in the nation's capital. For the past two years, however, they've been dealing with the nightmare of litigation: a $65 million lawsuit over a pair of missing pants. Jin Nam Chung, Ki Chung and their son, Soo Chung, are so disheartened that they're considering moving back to Seoul, said their attorney, Chris Manning, who spoke on their behalf. They're out a lot of money, but more importantly, incredibly disenchanted with the system," Manning said. "This has destroyed their lives." The lawsuit was filed by a District of Columbia administrative hearings judge, Roy Pearson, who has been representing himself in the case.

Pearson did not return phone calls and e-mails Wednesday from The Associated Press requesting comment. According to court documents, the problem began in May 2005 when Pearson became a judge and brought several suits for alteration to Custom Cleaners in Northeast Washington, a place he patronized regularly despite previous disagreements with the Chungs. A pair of pants from one suit was not ready when he requested it two days later, and was deemed to be missing. Pearson asked the cleaners for the full price of the suit: more than $1,000. But a week later, the Chungs said the pants had been found and refused to pay. That's when Pearson decided to sue.

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." Based on Pearson's dissatisfaction and the delay in getting back the pants, he claims the signs amount to fraud. Pearson has appointed himself to represent all customers affected by such signs, though D.C. Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz, who will hear the June 11 trial, has said that this is a case about one plaintiff, and one pair of pants.

Sherman Joyce, president of the American Tort Association, has written a letter to the group of men who will decide this week whether to renew Pearson's 10-year appointment. Joyce is asking them to reconsider.
Chief Administrative Judge Tyrone Butler had no comment regarding Pearson's reappointment. The association, which tries to police the kind of abusive lawsuits that hurt small businesses, also has offered to buy Pearson the suit of his choice. And former National Labors Relations Board chief administrative law judge Melvin Welles wrote to The Washington Post to urge "any bar to which Mr. Pearson belongs to immediately disbar him and the District to remove him from his position as an administrative law judge."

"There has been a significant groundswell of support for the Chungs," said Manning, adding that plans for a defense fund Web site are in the works.
To the Chungs and their attorney, one of the most frustrating aspects of the case is their claim that Pearson's gray pants were found a week after Pearson dropped them off in 2005. They've been hanging in Manning's office for more than a year. Pearson claims in court documents that his pants had blue and red pinstripes. "They match his inseam measurements. The ticket on the pants match his receipt," Manning said.

Pot-Head Judge Gets Arrested

Broward Circuit Judge Lawrence Korda is facing a misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession after city police officers said they busted him for allegedly smoking pot in a Hollywood park Sunday afternoon. The judge played a role in the Anna Nicole Smith case when he briefly handled a small part of the paternity battle over the former Playboy centerfold's infant daughter. Korda, 59, was not arrested but was issued a notice to appear on April 26 in the satellite courthouse in Hollywood.

Court and state law enforcement records show no prior legal problems for the judge so he could qualify for a first-time offender pre-trial drug diversion program. But the allegation he used an illegal drug could result in a complaint to the Judicial Qualification Commission and possible discipline, several legal experts said. If the judicial watchdog agency found his conduct violated judicial rules, he could face a reprimand or removal from the bench. Anyone can file a complaint with the commission. The Judicial Qualification Commission said Monday that no complaint has been filed with the agency so far and, at this point, it is up to Broward's Chief Judge Dale Ross to decide if Korda should continue to work until the case is resolved. Through a spokesman, Ross said he had not yet decided what to do.

At about 2 p.m. Sunday, three officers who were in Stanley Goldman Memorial Park noticed Korda smoking a joint while sitting on the ground next to a tree in the park, Hollywood police spokesman Capt. Tony Rode said. "They said they smelled a very strong odor of what they found to be marijuana," Rode said. "They followed the smell to a gentleman sitting under a tree. He was actively smoking the marijuana cigarette as they approached him."The officers, who were in plain clothes and exercising while on-duty as permitted by department policy, said the joint tested positive for marijuana, Rode said. The judge, who lives in Hollywood, was cited for misdemeanor marijuana possession. Police records said Korda had one marijuana cigarette. The officers did not know who Korda was until they asked his profession. "He at no time asked for preferential treatment," he said.

Korda was elected to the bench in 1978 and has worked in the Family Court division for more than a decade. He also served on the juvenile bench. Korda has been accused of insensitivity. All of Broward's judges had to attend sensitivity training last year after a series of events involving several judges. The final straw, said leaders of local minority bar associations, was a December 2005 incident when Korda berated a woman seeking a restraining order for speaking her native Spanish instead of English. Korda eventually apologized.

Lisa Metellus-Hood, former president of the Haitian Lawyers Association, and a critic of Korda's, said she thought clients appearing before Korda might be disturbed by the marijuana allegation."Probably the public would be more taken aback because as judges, their job is to chastise people and tell them what to do," she said.

Observations: Smoking marijuana should probably be decriminalized, especially when you consider it is a natural weed that once grew all over America. Some of the founding fathers allegedly smoked pot.

That being said, you can't ignore the hypocrisy issue. Here is a longtime judge (since 1978) who at some point in his career has probably sent at least a few people to prison for drug use, and yet he is a life-long reefer addict. In Family Court, he is deciding child custody issues and the fitness and character of parents. How does he rule when parents are regular drug users?

I doubt this judge is buying his weed off the streets, and more than likely his connection is dealing drugs to other judges and important people. It is probably somebody in his social circle, not a street-dealer. So why is there no concern about this? Can you imagine how much influence a judge's illegal drug dealer can have over a judge? Can you say CORRUPTION?

Unfortunately, here in South Florida, law enforcement always turns a blind eye to the obvious. If Law Enforcement in South Florida had any balls, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement would be trying to arrest this judge when he is making his next drug buy. Maybe will lead to other community leaders who are also illegal drug users? At a minimum it will get one drug dealer off the streets. It would be interesting to find out if the judge's dealer ever used his power over the judge in order to influence judicial decisions?

Of course, if marijuana were legal, the judge (and anyone else) could smoke dope without having to buy it from drug dealers, and without directly or indirectly supporting organized crime. Not to mention that the state and federal government could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue by taxing marjuana.

Raul Masvidal Fingers Miami

Developer Raul Masvidal, one of Miami-Dade's most prominent civic leaders, appeared with his lawyer this morning at the state attorney's office to face felony charges that he siphoned tens of thousands of dollars from the county's housing agency to buy himself a sculpture of a giant watermelon slice.

He lashed out at two key witnesses in the case, Julio Larraz, a Miami artist and Masvidal's childhood friend, and Ron Hall, a Texas art broker. "The only reason why I am being indicted is because there are two liars. ''I think that once they look into their papers and look into the lies that they are telling, I will be exonerated,'' he said.

Masvidal also slammed The Miami Herald, which broke the news this morning that he would be charged by authorities. ''I have been tried in the court of The Miami Herald; I have been convicted by The Miami Herald and taken to the gallows today by The Miami Herald,'' Masvidal said.
A former banker whose ties to local power brokers span three decades, Masvidal is charged with grand theft and organized fraud. If convicted of the first-degree felonies, he could face as many as 30 years in prison.
According to investigators from the Miami-Dade inspector general's office, Masvidal used county money to buy a $150,000 watermelon sculpture titled Mars.

Masvidal, who once farmed watermelons in Puerto Rico; allegedly concealed the purchase by submitting a fraudulent invoice through a failed housing agency construction project he was managing. ''What a great disappointment,'' State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle told The Miami Herald. "He was a respected member of our community. But he turned on his community. He turned on his friends.''

Masvidal's defense attorney, John Thornton, said his client will plead not guilty. "We look forward to revealing all the facts in court. He has committed no crime.'' Masvidal is the second developer in recent months accused of stealing money from the Miami-Dade Housing Agency while thousands of poor families scraped by in decrepit rental apartments, public housing or homeless shelters.

Masvidal is among at least a half-dozen people brought under investigation since The Miami Herald's House of Lies series last summer revealed chronic misspending and insider deals that allowed developers to reap millions of dollars for affordable housing never built.

Commentary: The photo included is of Raul Masvidal as he was turning himself in to get booked. Obviously, since the scumbag is rich, he did not actually spend any time in jail awaiting a bond hearing. He just walked in and walked out. That is how corruption is resolved in Miami.