the pearson-pants act?

The crazy saga of Roy Pearson and his $54 million lawsuit against Custom Cleaners has taken another twisty turn. The case was eventually thrown out (thank goodness), but I guess the repercussions are still being felt... The Maryland legislature is currently considering a bill that would require dry cleaners in the state to pay customers for clothing they damaged. The sponsoring delegate, Barbara A. Robinson, said she was inspired in part by Pearson's ridiculous lawsuit over a lost pair of pants: Maryland Legislature Mulls the . . . Pearson-Pants Act?

The proposed law, however, may not be too popular. A significant, vocal group of dry cleaners, most of them Koreans, reportedly attended the legislative hearing to oppose the measure:

Chung K. Pak, testifying on behalf of the Korean Americans Association of Maryland, said Robinson's bill unfairly targets immigrants from Korea, who run many of the dry cleaners. "It's an additional burden, and this special protection is unnecessary," Pak said. The bill "stigmatizes the dry-cleaning industry, which is already burdened by lawsuits."

The extreme reaction apparently came as a surprise to Robinson, who didn't realize her proposal would be so unpopular. She may not have purposely crafted the bill to target Korean immigrants, but there's no doubt such a bill would have an effect on my Korean-owned dry cleaners. I'm sure the $54 milllionp debacle made a lot of dry cleaners wary, angry, and vigilant about this sort of thing. You still suck, Roy Pearson.