The former D.C. judge who was fired after becoming a symbol of runaway litigation for suing over lost pants has claimed he suffered “humiliation” and “physical illness” in a new lawsuit seeking reinstatement and at least $1 million in damages.
In a 52-page lawsuit filed in the D.C. federal court, Roy Pearson claimed that the District and a city judicial commission wrongfully dismissed him for exposing corruption within the Office of Administrative Hearings, the department where he worked.
Pearson’s 10-year appointment as the administrative law judge was reversed last year as news of his $68 million lawsuit over a pair of suit pants gained international attention. The claim was later reduced to $54 million.
He was finally dismissed six months later in a protracted review. Sources told The Examiner that Pearson was canned because he showed a lack of judicial judgment and judicial temperament.
But Pearson said in court documents that he was protected as a whistle-blower and that the city was using the fact that he was being “vilified in the media” to cut him out of his $100,000 job.
“Confident that the media storm would provide cover for a retaliatory demotion …, the defendants made little effort to mask their retaliatory motive,” Pearson wrote.
The wrongful actions caused “physical illness, damage to his career and loss of employment, humiliation, damage to his reputation, economic damages and severe emotional distress.”
Pearson is demanding compensatory damages in excess of $75,000 from the District and the five commission members. He also is demanding punitive damages “no less than ten times the amount of compensatory damages from all defendants jointly and severally.”
During the dry-cleaner trial, Pearson broke down on the stand when he tried to describe how he learned that he’d never see his pants again. The judge ruled in favor of the dry cleaners.
