pearson v. custom cleaners

"Whether the word "pants" has never been uttered this many times in a courtroom is debatable. What's is certain is that never has some much time and legal energy been wasted on a pair of them." This is great. I was kind of curious about the Pearson vs. Custom Cleaners court proceedings, which began today. What would the trial over the most expensive pair of pants in the history of mankind look like? Thankfully, a bunch of folks wrote in to inform me that Emil Steiner of the Washington Post has been blogging all day from the courtroom: Blogging Live From This Year's Most Frivolous Lawsuit. He's been breaking down trial, offering wry commentary on every little bit of worthless minutiae—what Pearson wore to the trial (a well-pressed blue pinstripe suit and purple tie), irrelevant witness testimony, laughter in the courtroom (looks like the judge had to stifle a chuckle or two), Pearson's apparent breakdown on the stand... Yeah, that's right. Pearson appeared to have some kind of break down. Steiner writes:

If I had $54 million in my pocket, I'd almost give it to Roy Pearson to end this thing. Pearson took the stand this afternoon in his trial against Custom Cleaners, and it wasn't exactly spellbinding.

Pearson went into seemingly every minute detail of life: his history of community service, his weight gain as a middle-aged man, his financial woes and his painful divorce. Even the opposing defense counsel was rubbing his eyes and suppressing yawns. But the judge let Pearson tell his story, taking occasional notes, always with a somewhat bemused expression on her face. I could almost see the thought bubble over her head: Take as much time as you need to orchestrate your circus. (Though if circuses were this slow, Barnum & Bailey would be out of business.)

Then, just before 3:30, Roy L. Pearson broke down, appeared to almost cry, and quickly requested a break. Would it be heartless to ask whether he had been bored to tears?

Spare me. Excuse me if I don't feel sorry for the guy. Can the people take legal action against Roy Pearson for subjecting them to this worthless nonsense? The Chungs' defense counsel hits the nail on the head when they describe the proceedings as—and I quote—"a monumental waste of time." Indeed. We can only hope that it will all be over soon. Follow along with the riveting legal drama here. Support the Chungs here.

UPDATE: The trial continues on to Day 2, with the Washington Post's Marc Fisher picking up the blogging duties from the court room: Pants Trial Day Two: We See The Pants. It appears to be the end of the line for Pearson, whose odd and laughable world view continues to dig himself into a hole.

UPDATE 2: The trial is over, but Judge Judith Bartnoff isn't ruling until next week. Let's hope this means an end to Pearson's idiocy, as well as some relief for the Chungs. Here's the New York Times coverage of the trial: Judge Tries Suing Pants Off Dry Cleaners