Roy Pearson: From Pseudo-Judge To Ex-Pseudo-Judge?
Last week we alluded to the possibility that Roy Pearson, plaintiff in the notorious $54 million pants case, might not be reappointed to his post as an administrative law judge. That possibility is now one step closer to being realized. From the Washington Post:
A city commission has voted to formally notify Administrative Law Judge Roy Pearson that he may not be reappointed to the bench, according to a government source.In a letter sent to Pearson yesterday, the Commission on Selection and Tenure of Administrative Law Judges cited not only Pearson’s infamous failed lawsuit against Custom Cleaners, but his work as a judge the past two years.
So it’s not just about the pants. Pearson was also talking trash about his chief:
Concerns about Pearson’s temperament as an administrative law judge preceded the publicity about the lawsuit this spring….In e-mails sent to his fellow judges and cited in the letter, Pearson’s contempt for Chief Administrative Law Judge Tyrone T. Butler was evident. In one of the missives, he spoke of protecting himself from any attempt by Butler “to knife” him. In another, he questioned Butler’s competence and integrity.
Talk of a knife fight? Is Roy Pearson a judge, or a summer associate?
David Nieporent, at Overlawyered, sums up the situation nicely: “Apparently trying to destroy a business by using the legal system to extort millions from the owners isn’t his big sin; his big sin is being rude to his boss.”
Litigious Judge’s Future Unclear [Washington Post]
Updates - August 8 [Overlawyered]
Earlier: Roy Pearson: No Justice, No Pants… No Job
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Figgiti-FIRST!
It is hard to imagine this man having difficulty with the boss based on prior examples of his behavior. It is actually heartwarming to see an asshole get his due, it happens so rarely in this profession.
Can someone please explain how his case was not thrown out as frivolous from the beginning?
Clearly this man is insane. ALJ's use shivs.
FIFTH!!
Top 5 baby
I hope Nieporent is being facetious. The detailed recitation about past performance issues in Pearson's ALJ role is just a way to sidestep questions about whether Pearson is being punished for exercising his right to petition for redress of grievances (questions that are spurious, since the pants suit (heh) is about the clearest evidence of lack of judicial temperament I can imagine, but this guy has never been deterred by lack of a colorable claim).
This is absurd. This man is being denied the right to practice his livelihood simply because he chose to exercise his rights as a citizen seeking redress in the judicial system. It doesn't matter whether he won or lost his pants case. This will have a chilling effect on anyone seeking justice
See, this (11:52) is what I mean.
11:52, nobody has "the right" to be a judge. It's a position of the highest public confidence and trust (even for an ALJ). Pearson claimed that a sign proclaiming "Satisfaction Guaranteed" meant that he, subjectively, had to be satisfied even if his demands were completely unreasonable. Anyone who can say that with a straight face has, in my book, permanently disqualified himself from ever sitting on the bench.
"It is actually heartwarming to see an asshole get his due, it happens so rarely in this profession."
I agree. This goes beyond the legal profession.
11:52, disbarment would prevent the guy from "practic[ing] his livelihood." Declining to reappoint someone who must be reappointed periodically to keep his job is not the same kind of deprivation.
This case should have a chilling effect on frivolous litigation. I doubt it'll have any effect at all on normal lawsuits.
This guy is mentally disturbed, he declined reasonable settlement offers, and sought tens of millions of dollars over a pair of pants. If people in circumstances similar to that are chilled from seeking similar "justice," then today is a great day for the legal system. I'm not nearly that optimistic, though.
"This man is being denied the right to practice his livelihood simply because he chose to exercise his rights as a citizen seeking redress in the judicial system. It doesn't matter whether he won or lost his pants case. This will have a chilling effect on anyone seeking justice"
The cleaners were nearly deprived of their livelihood by the legal system, and this case will likely have a chilling effect on anyone seeking to do business in Washington DC.
The should read "David Nieporent of BaseballThinkFactory"
@ 10:53 --
I doubt Nieporent was being facetious. Overlawyered has a tendency to misanalyze and misreport stories to promote their obvious anti-lawyer, anti-judicial, pro-tort reform bias.
Yeah, I know - a politically biased and factually inaccurate blog? Amazing. But still, Overlawyered is particularly annoying.
Look at their recent article about the recent spate of asbestos suits in Delaware, which raised all sorts of specters about DE becoming a Madison County-like "judicial hellhole", but completely ignored the fact that the ATRA/Chamber of Commerce's own poll has rated DE's judiciary #1 in the country for years and years. And they also didn't mention that asbestos cases are being dismissed on summary judgment at a good rate.
So it's not surprising that they would have ignored a little detail about the basis of Judge "Pants" Pearson's failed renomination, because it helps them prove their monotonous point that the US legal system is broken from top to bottom.
Hey, Overlawyered cabal - I know you monitor this blog. Why don't you bitch about the 100 grand the dry cleaners' attorney charged to defend a frivolous piece of shit like the Pants Fraud Suit?