$54 Million Pants? Read text & complete worksheet ‘Wrong trousers’ dispute ends in a multi-million dollar court case. Washington judge, Roy Pearson, takes some suits to a shop called Custom Cleaners. He wants them to do some alterations. Two days later, Mr Pearson returns. Custom Cleaners hand over his garments. The business transaction is complete But according to Mr Pearson something is wrong. And he is very upset ‘They tried to give me a pair of charcoal grey trousers,’ a tearful Pearson later tells a court. ‘My pants had had red and blue stripes!’ At the time he asks for the full price of his suit. ‘It cost over $1,000!’ $1,000?
Custom Cleaners are a small family business. They don’t want to pay $1,000. They insist the grey trousers are the ‘lost’ ones. ‘These are the pants you gave us!’ they say. Mr Pearson disagrees. He goes to court to claim compensation. Now he wants more than $1,000. In fact he asks for US $65 million. You might think $65 million buys a lot of trousers. You could buy a trouser factory and still have plenty of change. So how does Mr Pearson justify his claim? Satisfaction Guaranteed?
Mr Pearson points out that Custom Cleaners have ‘Satisfaction Guaranteed’ sign above the counter of their shop. Breaking this promise has caused Judge Pearson ‘mental suffering, inconvenience and discomfort’. Naturally, it will take millions of dollars to rebuild his life. Plus there are his legal costs. Judge Pearson has hired himself as a lawyer. And he doesn’t come cheap! The Ruling The judge in the case rules in favour of Custom Cleaners. ‘Satisfaction guaranteed,’ she writes in her ruling, does not apply to ‘a customer’s unreasonable demands.’
Vocabulary
Guaranteed - promised
Alterations - changes to size
Pants - trousers (US) underwear (UK)
Claim Compensation - request money to pay for loss
Ruling - judgement/decision
Frivolous - unserious, silly
Tearful - crying
Stripes - vertical lines
Garments - clothes Upper Intermediate Teaching Pack
$54 Million Pants? Complete worksheet Here are some fun learning activities. All the information you need is found in the text above. You could also look at this video News Report. Understanding
Roles: Prosecution/defence lawyers, Judge, Roy Pearson, Chung family.
1.Try this matching exercise Vocabulary 1. A lawsuit is heard in a a) a court b) a prison c) a hospital 2. Something frivolous is a) serious b) not serious c) very loud 3. Stripes on trousers are: a) circles b) horizontal lines c) vertical lines 4. A dry-cleaners
b) A television debate involving Roy Pearson and the family running Custom Cleaners. Roles: Chung family, Roy Pearson,
the television presenter. Work in small groups
Prepare a ‘frivolous lawsuit’ against a holiday company. You could include the following the noise dogs of barking rain/lack of sunshine cows in field looking at you Your hotel haunted by a ghost
5. What does ‘satisfaction guaranteed’ mean?
★ ★ ★ ★
Answers
Role play court case (see above)
a) makes b) cleans c) dries clothes
Writing 1. Write a 200 word newspaper report about this case. Try to present the facts rather than your opinions. You should include: ★ What we know happened (e.g. Judge Pearson took some suits to Custom Cleaners.) ★ What Judge Pearson alleges (says) happened to his trousers. ★ What the Custom Cleaners say happened ★ What the judge in the case decided. 2. Imagine you are Judge Roy Pearson. Write why you think you deserve $54 million. 3. You are the judge in the case. Write a letter to a friend about what happened.
Watching & Listening Video & activities here:
Five facts I didn't know about trousers
Think about a) what were the first trousers? b) what are the most expensive? c) how do we measure trousers? d) what are the best materials & why? e) who wore ‘the wrong trousers’?
Presentation Create a five-minute presentation on either: ‘The beauty of trousers!’ or ‘The history of trousers. You can use anything you like - text, photos, drawings, videos.
Speaking & listening Role play the following scenes: a) The court case. A prosecution lawyer gives the case for the Roy Pearson: the defence lawyer for Custom Cleaners replies.
Text & more learning activities
Upper Intermediate Teaching Pack