CHARLESTON - In a case that mirrors a recent headline-grabbing lawsuit, a Charleston attorney claims a dry cleaner lost clothes he had left to be cleaned.
Richard D. Jones filed the suit July 25 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Pressed For Time and Lisa Williams.
Jones is an attorney for Flaherty, Sensabaugh and Bonasso.
According to the suit, Jones routinely left clothes for dry cleaning at Pressed For Time. During one instance, Jones claims his clothes were not returned and he was advised that his clothes were lost or may have been given to another customer.
A store employee asked Jones to be patient and wait to see in the clothes would reappear, which Jones claims he did, but the clothes did not reappear.
According to the suit, Jones has contacted Pressed For Time on several occasions and asked for reimbursement for his clothing and supplied an invoice showing the price of the clothing. Jones claims the company has failed to either return the clothing or reimburse him for the cost.
The case is similar to a now-world famous 2005 lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C.
In that case, Roy L. Pearson Jr., a former administrative law judge, filed suit against Soo Chung, Jin Nam Chung and Ki Y. Chung, the owners of Custom Cleaners, for losing a pair of his pants.
Pearson initially sought $67 million for inconvenience, mental anguish and attorney fees for representing himself. He said the Chungs did not deliver on the "satisfaction guaranteed" sign displayed in the store. He later dropped the amount sought to $54 million.
The Pearson case went to trial in 2007. A Superior Court judge ruling in favor of the Chungs. Pearson later was removed from the bench.
In the Charleston case, Jones -- who is representing himself -- seeks reimbursement for the full value of his clothing, as well as unspecified punitive damages.
The case has been assigned to Judge Irene Berger.
According to his biography on the firm's Web site, Jones concentrates his civil litigation practice in the areas of medical malpractice defense, products liability defense, complex and mass tort litigation and commercial litigation.
It says he also has extensive experience in defending physicians and hospitals in medical negligence cases. He has extensive experience in representing and defending manufacturers of a wide variety of products. His commercial experience has included representation of a variety of businesses and corporations in litigation-related matters.
Jones is an original member of Flaherty, Sensabaugh & Bonasso and "has been an integral part in the growth of the firm from its original six members to over 40 lawyers in three separate cities in the State of West Virginia."
