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Haha, Lawyer Loses Dry Cleaner Claim!

odoreater

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Did anyone actually think he was going to win?
 

SuitingStyle

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if he had just sued for the original cost of the suit, he prob. would have won the case and got his "satisfaction", what a greedy bastard
 

amerikajinda

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At one point I think the owners of the cleaners had offered him $12,000... some may say, "he should have quit while he was ahead" but perhaps he's just an egotistical bastard who was just in it for the publicity...
 

TCN

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Now hold on there folks; if anyone should be sympathetic to this claim, we should be . . . and I am. First of all, the guy offered to settle with the dry cleaners for the cost of the suit, and they told him to go pound sand . . . so he got pissed. Not that I agree with how far he took this, but there's more to this claim than meets the eye.

About five years ago, I sued my dry cleaners, here's what happened . . . We had an arrangement with the cleaners, whereby they would pick up my shirts from the front porch, and drop off at the back door of the house. They did this, and it worked fine.

Then one day, they decided to both pick up and drop off from the front porch, on a day that happened to be a Purple Heart pick-up day. So the dry cleaners picked up our donations, dry-cleaned them, sent us the bill, and dropped off 16 of my shirts on the front porch, which the Purple Heart truck picked up and disseminated about an hour later. 5 T&A's, 2 Charvets, 2 RLPL's, and a mix of Pinks and Brooks Bros. (along with my wife's favorite cashmere blanket). I was able to recover five shirts from a Goodwill store in Detroit the next day.

When I first told the dry cleaners about this, they were apologetic and said just give us a list of the items and we will reimburse. So when I ultimately gave them the list and offered to settle for 50 cents on the dollar, they told me that they didn't feel they were responsible, and that it was all my fault. I politely (always) asked them to reconsider and informed them that I would file a lawsuit (in my jurisdiction) for the full damages plus penalties allowable under Michigan's Consumer Protection Act, they again told me to go pound sand.

Well, I filed a suit, and they kept trying to settle by giving me free dry cleaning (sorry, not interested). I was so angry, I wanted to keep the bills churning (I represented myself) and get the full payment plus penalties (there was no way they'd win btw), but ultimately agreed to settle because I was friends with the lawyer they hired to represent them. I regret not making those bastards pay more frankly.
 

Joffrey

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Wow. I'll definately reconsider ever doing Drycleaning pickup/dropoffs.
 

Manton

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The one time I had a problem with a dry cleaners, it was because I had left a red pen in the interior pocket of a tan jacket. My fault, not theirs. Yet they told me that they search every jacket before cleaning, and if they miss something, they consider the mistake theirs. The asked me what the jacket cost and when it was purchased. They then sent me a check for the jacket, adjusted for a depreciation. Still it was a substantial check, and went a long way toward replacing that jacket. I not only had not asked for that check, had they not brought it up, I would have walked away blaming myself and holding them in no way responsible.

Parkway Cleaners, Bethesda, MD.
icon_gu_b_slayer[1].gif
 

GQgeek

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Originally Posted by Manton
The one time I had a problem with a dry cleaners, it was because I had left a red pen in the interior pocket of a tan jacket. My fault, not theirs. Yet they told me that they search every jacket before cleaning, and if they miss something, they consider the mistake theirs. The asked me what the jacket cost and when it was purchased. They then sent me a check for the jacket, adjusted for a depreciation. Still it was a substantial check, and went a long way toward replacing that jacket. I not only had not asked for that check, had they not brought it up, I would have walked away blaming myself and holding them in no way responsible.

Parkway Cleaners, Bethesda, MD.
icon_gu_b_slayer[1].gif


I wish service like that existed everywhere but people would probably just abuse it once word got out.
 

drizzt3117

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Originally Posted by TCN
Now hold on there folks; if anyone should be sympathetic to this claim, we should be . . . and I am. First of all, the guy offered to settle with the dry cleaners for the cost of the suit, and they told him to go pound sand . . . so he got pissed. Not that I agree with how far he took this, but there's more to this claim than meets the eye. About five years ago, I sued my dry cleaners, here's what happened . . . We had an arrangement with the cleaners, whereby they would pick up my shirts from the front porch, and drop off at the back door of the house. They did this, and it worked fine. Then one day, they decided to both pick up and drop off from the front porch, on a day that happened to be a Purple Heart pick-up day. So the dry cleaners picked up our donations, dry-cleaned them, sent us the bill, and dropped off 16 of my shirts on the front porch, which the Purple Heart truck picked up and disseminated about an hour later. 5 T&A's, 2 Charvets, 2 RLPL's, and a mix of Pinks and Brooks Bros. (along with my wife's favorite cashmere blanket). I was able to recover five shirts from a Goodwill store in Detroit the next day. When I first told the dry cleaners about this, they were apologetic and said just give us a list of the items and we will reimburse. So when I ultimately gave them the list and offered to settle for 50 cents on the dollar, they told me that they didn't feel they were responsible, and that it was all my fault. I politely (always) asked them to reconsider and informed them that I would file a lawsuit (in my jurisdiction) for the full damages plus penalties allowable under Michigan's Consumer Protection Act, they again told me to go pound sand. Well, I filed a suit, and they kept trying to settle by giving me free dry cleaning (sorry, not interested). I was so angry, I wanted to keep the bills churning (I represented myself) and get the full payment plus penalties (there was no way they'd win btw), but ultimately agreed to settle because I was friends with the lawyer they hired to represent them. I regret not making those bastards pay more frankly.
I believe the dry cleaners offered him $8-10k payment for the lost pants and he refused... He could have bought half a dozen Hickey Freeman suits with that money.
 

NoVaguy

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Originally Posted by odoreater
Did anyone actually think he was going to win?

I never really did. Rarely do people get big awards at trial, especially since they'll be cut down on appeals.
 

lawyerdad

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Originally Posted by NoVaguy
I never really did. Rarely do people get big awards at trial, especially since they'll be cut down on appeals.

This is at best a serious overstatement.
 

NoVaguy

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Originally Posted by lawyerdad
This is at best a serious overstatement.

probably too sweeping of a statement, but with the 10-1 effective (but not explicit) punitive due process cap, you're limited pretty much to compensatory or some other statutory provision.....
 

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