A Maryland lawmaker “wants her recourse” against (mostly Korean) dry cleaners who damage clothing:
A D.C. judge’s $54 million lawsuit against his neighborhood dry cleaners over a lost pair of gray trousers prompted worldwide ridicule but is now being taken seriously in the Maryland legislature.
If a delegate has her way, dry cleaners in Maryland would be required by law to pay customers for clothing they damaged. Customers might have recourse, for example, if the cleaners stained a dress. And if the garment were damaged beyond repair or lost, the business would have to replace the clothing with a comparable item.
“Give me my recourse,” Del. Barbara A. Robinson (D-Baltimore) pleaded before a panel of legislators considering her bill.
Robinson was inspired in part by the case of Roy L. Pearson Jr., a D.C. administrative law judge whose $54 million lawsuit against Custom Cleaners created a media spectacle. A judge dismissed Pearson’s suit, leaving him with tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees. The case so burdened Korean shop owners Soo and Jin Chung that they closed the Northeast Washington store. They still operate another shop, Happy Cleaners, in Northwest.
Unfortunately for Robinson, her move sparked outrage in the dry cleaning community:
Robinson found out yesterday that it might not be politically popular to change state law to require for the first time what dry cleaners must do if they damage or lose clothing.
She was the lone witness testifying for her bill before the House of Delegates’ Economic Matters Committee. Scores of dry cleaners, most of them Koreans, attended the hearing to oppose the measure. With industry lobbyists in tow, the launderers packed the hearing room, spilled out into the foyer and sought to display strength in numbers.
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.”
An office full of angry Koreans can be a sobering experience:
Robinson said she did not realize her proposal, billed as a consumer protection law, would cause such a stir until last week.
“I came to my office last Monday, and my office was filled with Koreans from D.C. and Maryland,” Robinson said. “They see it as me picking on Koreans. They see it as me saying they’re responsible for any damages. And that’s not what I’m saying.”
Hanin power was so great, in fact, that one co-sponsor said at the hearing he was withdrawing support for the bill:
“I see that I’ve made a mistake,” said Del. Frank M. Conaway Jr. (D), who represents the same Baltimore district as Robinson.
The dry cleaners broke out in applause.
“Whoa, whoa,” said Del. David D. Rudolph (D-Cecil), who presided over the hearing. “Thank him outside in the hallway.”
And that they did. Dozens swarmed around Conaway in the foyer and posed for pictures with him. Then they saw Robinson walk by and surrounded her, prodding her about possible amendments to her bill.
“This is just part of the working day,” Robinson said. “I have a lot of opposition. Oh well.”
Funny, funny stuff.
(HT to reader)
12 Comments
Hahahaha….
Just another example that if you bitch loud enough shit gets done. Cry racism in the NA and shit gets done.
Disregarding the can of worms it would open with regards to proof, why they hell shouldn’t dry cleaners be responsible?!?
(and now my real feelings)
Hehe.
oops…originally had “in the states…” then changed to NA upon reflection. Scratch ‘the’.
Yeah, well my dry cleaner really messed up my new winter jacket.
Dry cleaners should have to pay-up when they damage your clothes.
I foresee a side effect, an opportunity for a new industry - damage insurance for the dry cleaners, to protect them against fraudulent claims by their customers. Which will lead the insurers to establish a national Fraudulent Claims Against Dry Cleaners Data Base.
Which means the dry cleaners will have to check potential customers’ identity against the data base. Which means they’ll need to be connected to it. Which means they need to buy some kind of hardware and they’ll pay a monthly fee for access to the data base. I see money just rolling in. Let’s patent this business model!
Who is crying racism here, the negroes or the Koreans?
I live in washington state and have had two items of clothing ruined by my local dry cleaners… They offered to compensate me for the loss. I didn’t get the total cost of my items, but at least they tried. And, they were Koreans.
I live in Seoul and have my clothing ruined all the time by my wife. She won’t stop boiling underwear and t-shirts on the stove, despite the fact that it destroys them in record time.
You need a good lawyer, mate.
but where to find one!
“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.”
Riiight. Just like minimum wage laws in New York unfairly targets Koreans, who run many of the green grocers. I applauded Spitzer’s crackdown, and I think the Maryland bill, provided the description in this article is accurate, only makes sense. I would be surprised if most Korean Americans didn’t feel the same way.
#8..is your wife cleaning your clothes or making your supper or doing both in one foul swoop ?
If you are enjoying the meals, perhaps not all is lost 