Andrew M. Ayers - January 2022

Andrew M. Ayers - January 2022

JANUARY 2022

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Food for the Soul Still My Favorite Music

Some of the first concerts I attended were by Soul Asylum at First Avenue in downtown Minneapolis. They’ve been one of my favorite bands ever since. They were a significant part of my adolescence, and it was a lot of fun to see a band from Minneapolis make it big. We arrived in Minneapolis just as their album Grave Dancers Union dropped and the song “Runaway Train” took off. I remember they even got to play at the White House as part of President Clinton’s inauguration, and it was with a bit of pride that we could say that we knew them before they were huge. I first had their albums on cassette — the format of the day — and would listen to them in my car as I drove around town. I generally prefer their earlier stuff, which was grungier and more like The Replacements, to the pop music they produced in the 1990s. My favorite song is “Crashing Down” from their 1986 album While You Were Out. I’d play that one over and over again. Before the internet, we all used to make copies of tapes and trade them around. I remember back in Connecticut there was this little record shop (Johnnys) that had a wall full of Grateful Dead bootlegs. I can still see the owner’s handwritten titles in my mind. I don’t remember how much he charged for a cassette, but it was more than I could afford — and the fact that he could go in the back and make more copies made the price seem even more exorbitant. Thankfully,

“They say the music you loved as a teenager is what sticks with you years later, and in my case, that’s definitely true.”

you always knew somebody who knew somebody who knew somebody who’d be willing to copy the tape for you.

Soul Asylum has gone up and down in popularity, but they still tour each year. Even when my wife and I were living in New York, Soul Asylum would come through about once a year, and we’d always catch the show. The last time we saw them in New York, I was hanging out on the balcony during the opening act when I noticed the band’s guitarist, Dan Murphy, standing near me. It was exciting to get to chat with him for a minute. He left the band shortly after that — hopefully, his departure wasn’t my fault! Today, it’s still a tradition for my wife, a couple of high school friends, and me to see them live when they play at First Avenue every year around Christmas. The concerts are a little different these days. First, lead singer Dave Pirner is the only original member still with the band. Second, the fans have all gotten older; while the floor used to be a mosh pit, the crowds these days are a bit more mellow. But the band still puts on a good show and plays a nice mix of old and new songs. They say the music you loved as a teenager is what sticks with you years later, and in my case, that’s definitely true. A whole lot has changed in my life since I was a kid hanging out down at First Avenue, but Soul Asylum’s music has been with me every step of the way — and hopefully will be for many more years to come.

–Andrew M. Ayers

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How Much Are Your Favorite Pants Worth? One Man Estimated His at $54 Million

Everyone knows that the perfect pair of pants can be hard to come by, but are they worth $54 million? Administrative Judge Roy L. Pearson had a favorite pair of pants, but in 2007, he claimed that Custom Cleaners lost them and returned a completely different pair instead. It all began when Pearson took his pants to the Washington, D.C., dry cleaners for alterations worth $10.50. The pants were sent in error to the incorrect dry cleaner, so Pearson’s pickup was delayed by several

though, was the company’s failure to live up to their “Satisfaction Guaranteed” and “Same Day Service” signs in the window.

The media had a field day, joking about the case as a “pantsuit” and inspiring a “Law & Order” episode called “Bottomless.” Pearson seemed to relish the spectacle, calling his lawsuit “an awesome responsibility” in court and breaking down into tears on the stand. He also called a witness who compared the Chungs to Nazis. Even though the Chungs offered him a $12,000 settlement to make the case go away, Pearson persevered. He ultimately lost his case. At the end of the trial, the judge declared that no reasonable person would consider the signs at Custom Cleaners to be an unconditional promise — and also that Pearson had failed to prove the returned pants weren’t his. The Chungs ultimately recovered their court costs via a fundraiser, and Pearson lost his judicial appointment. Unsurprisingly, this prompted another lawsuit, which he also lost. In 2020, Pearson was suspended from practicing law for 90 days as a result of his actions in Pearson v. Chung . But for bringing new meaning to the phase “I’ll sue the pants off of you,” his place in legal history is secure.

days. Once the pants were returned, despite bearing all the correct tags and matching his receipt, Pearson declared that the pants were not his. When the dry cleaner refused his demand for $1,000 compensation, he decided it was time for legal action. Pearson originally sued the cleaner’s owners, Soo Chung, Jin Nam Chung, and Ki Y. Chung, for a whopping $67 million in damages but later reduced the claim to a far more reasonable $54 million. In his suit, Pearson requested $3 million for mental distress, $90,000 for a rental car to visit another dry cleaner, and $500,000 in attorney’s fees (Pearson represented himself). At the heart of his claim,

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