Dispute over pair of pants ends in a multi-million dollar court case.

Washington judge, Roy Pearson, takes some suits to a shop called Custom Cleaners. He wants them to do some alterations. Two days later, Judge Pearson returns. Custom Cleaners hand over his garments. The business transaction is complete

But according to Judge Pearson something is wrong. And he is very upset

‘They tried to give me a pair of charcoal grey trousers,’ a tearful Pearson later tells a court. ‘My pants had had red and blue stripes!’

At the time he asks for the full price of his suit. ‘It cost over $1,00 dollars!’

Satisfaction Guaranteed?

Custom Cleaners are a small family business. They don’t want to pay $1,000. They insist the grey trousers are the ‘lost’ ones. ‘These are the pants you gave us!’ they say.

Judge Pearson disagrees. He goes to court to claim compensation. Now he wants more than $1,000. In fact he asks for US $65 million.

You might think $65 million buys a lot of trousers. You could buy a trouser factory and still have plenty of change. So how did Judge Pearson justify his claim?

His case is that the Custom Cleaners have not honoured the ‘Satisfaction Guaranteed’ sign above their counter. This has caused Judge P e a r s o n ‘ m e n t a l s u f f e r i n g , inconvenience and discomfort ’ . Naturally, it will take millions of dollars to rebuild his life.

Plus there are his legal costs. Judge Pearson has hired himself as a lawyer. And he doesn’t come cheap!

The Ruling

The judge in the case rules in favour of Custom Cleaners. She dismisses Judge Pearson’s claim as frivolous.

‘Satisfaction guaranteed,’ she writes in her ruling, does not apply to ‘a customer’s unreasonable demands.’

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Vocabulary

Alterations - changes to size

Claim - ask for

Compensation - money to pay for loss

Frivolous - unserious, silly

Garments - clothes

Guaranteed - promised

Honoured - completed

Pants - trousers (US) underwear (UK)

Stripes - vertical lines

Tearful - crying

The Wrong Trousers?

Learning ActivitiesUnderstanding

1.Try this matching exercise

Vocabulary

1. A lawsuit is heard in a

a) a court b) a prison c) a hospital

2. Something frivolous is

a) serious b) not serious c) very loud

3. Stripes on trousers are:

a) circles b) horizontal lines c) vertical lines

4. A dry-cleaners

a) makes b) cleans c) dries clothes

5. What does ‘satisfaction guaranteed’ mean?

Answers

Writing1. Write a 200 word newspaper report about

this case. Try to present the facts rather than your opinions. You should include:

★ What we know happened (e.g. Judge Pearson took some suits to Custom Cleaners.)

★ What Judge Pearson alleges (says) happened to his trousers.

★ What the Custom Cleaners say happened

★ What the judge in the case decided.

2. Imagine you are Judge Roy Pearson. Write why you think you deserve $54 million.

3. You are the judge in the case. Write a letter to a friend about what happened.

Speaking & listening

Role play the following scenes: a) The court case. A prosecution lawyer gives the case for the Roy Pearson: the defence lawyer for Custom Cleaners replies.

Roles: Prosecution/defence lawyers, Judge, Roy Pearson, Chung family.

b) A television debate involving Roy Pearson and the family running Custom Cleaners.

Roles: Chung family, Roy Pearson, the television presenter.

Work in small groups Prepare a ‘frivolous lawsuit’ against a holiday company. You could include the following

★ the noise dogs of barking★ rain/lack of sunshine★ cows in field looking at you ★ Your hotel haunted by a ghost

Role play court case (see above)

Watching & Listening Video & activities here:

Five facts I didn't know about trousersThink abouta) what were the first trousers?b) what are the most expensive?c) how do we measure trousers?d) what are the best materials & why?e) who wore ‘the wrong trousers’?

PresentationCreate a five-minute presentation on either: ‘The beauty of trousers!’ or ‘The history of trousers. You can use anything you like - text, photos, drawings, videos.

Text & more learning activities

Here are some fun learning activities. All the information you need is found in the text above. You could also look at this video News Report.

Worksheet

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