A judicial panel weighing the fate of the D.C. administrative law judge who sued a dry cleaners for $54 million over a pair of missing pants adjourned Wednesday night without deciding whether to fire him. The panel was expected to reach a decision early next week.

“We do not want to rush to any judgment at all,” said D.C. Superior Court Judge Robert Rigsby, a member of the panel reviewing the case. “It is important that we get this right for many reasons.”

Administrative law Judge Roy Pearson gained international notoriety for suing Jin Nam Chung and Soo Chung, the owners of Custom Cleaners Dry Cleaners in Northeast Washington, for $67 million after they allegedly lost a pair of his pants. He rejected their offer of $12,000 but lowered his demand by $13 million before going to trial.

The commission is going over several concerns about Pearson’s behavior in the case. The three-judge panel, joined by two nonvoting members, deliberated for several hours Wednesday evening but ended their session without reaching a final judgment. Pearson could be the first judge of his rank to be fired by the commission.

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The case became a rallying point for tort reformers who held it up as an example of frivolous lawsuits and pointed at Pearson as the face of overzealous judges. Administrative law judges are city employees who preside over disputes between a government agency and people bringing complaints against the agency.

Two months ago, Pearson’s boss recommended that the three-judge voting panel reject Pearson for another term, government sources have told The Examiner. Pearson’s boss reversed an earlier letter to keep Pearson after the case gained widespread attention and attracted the mocking jabs of late-night talk show comedians.

The panel was expected to follow the advice of Pearson’s boss. The administrative law judge commission’s decision comes six weeks after Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff sided in favor of the dry cleaners, ruling that Pearson never proved that the Chungs violated the spirit of their “Satisfaction Guaranteed” sign.

smccabe@dcexaminer.com