It was not unexpected, of course. But the magic pants guy has lost his lawsuit against the dry cleaners in Washington DC.

As noted earlier, magic pants guy sued the dry cleaner because they misplaced his pants. The court found for the dry cleaners, Custom Cleaners. Looks like the magic pants guy won’t collect the requested $54 million. The trial court reportedly awarded the dry cleaners their court costs. Link here: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19414287/

The case demonstrates some important truths. Judges don’t lightly tolerate abuse of the civil justice system. Magic pants guy had no business bringing this case and surely should be the subject of scorn for seeking $54 million for the lost pants. This clown works as an administrative law judge, which is to say that he should know better.

So for those who criticize the civil justice system, let’s all remember this case. Because the system worked as it should, and the clown got shut down.

David F. Sugerman

One of the early critics of punitive damages, Judge Robert Bork, filed a lawsuit recently that reportedly arose from injuries he suffered as he fell while climbing steps. He was on his way to the lectern to give a speech to the Yale club. According to the report, Judge Bork seeks $1 million in damages, plus punitive damages. The good people at the American Constitution Society blog report: www.acsblog.org/economic-regulation-employment-leading-conservative-activist-seeks-punitive-damages.html

There’s something a little unsettling about all this. First, it’s rare–in fact almost unheard of–that an injured person would recover punitive damages in a simple premises fall case. The standard for punitive damages generally requires wanton disregard or deliberate indifference to a hazard. It would almost require the Yale club to have deliberately left a hazardous condition there, knowing that the frail judge would fall. Kind of like tossing the old banana peel on the floor and training a camera on the spot so that you could laugh at the guy tumbling.

It’s always a little risky to comment on cases based on media reports–you really don’t have all the facts unless you’re actually handling the case. But still, this one seems a little hard to fathom.

In the past, Judge Bork has railed against the civil justice system, tort law, and punitive damages, the very tools that he is using in his case to seek redress for his injuries. So the bigger question is whether he now stands ready to repudiate decades of criticism that has fueled critics of the civil justice system. This case might be more ironic than Mr. Hemstreet’s civil rights claim (May 23, 2007 post below).

Or maybe Judge Bork would explain that his case is different?

David F. Sugerman