DISTRICT BRIEFING

PANTS COMPLAINT

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Plaintiff Asks Judge To Reconsider Lawsuit

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Roy Pearson isn't giving up his legal battle against the dry-cleaning business that he says lost a pair of his pants. Now he is asking the judge who ruled against him to reconsider his $54 million lawsuit.

Pearson filed papers late Tuesday urging D.C. Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff to take another look at his case against Custom Cleaners. Bartnoff rejected his claims June 26, saying that Pearson had not shown that the Northeast Washington shop violated the city's consumer protection laws.

Pearson's filing said that Bartnoff should have placed more significance on the "Satisfaction Guaranteed" sign posted at the store. The business's owners, Soo and Jin Chung, are asking Bartnoff to order Pearson to pay $83,000 in legal fees. Pearson, an administrative law judge, could still take the matter to the D.C. Court of Appeals.

-- Bill Miller

D.C. COUNCIL

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Asthmatic Students May Now Self-Medicate

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Legislation passed Tuesday by the D.C. Council will allow students with asthma to carry and use inhalers and prescription drugs.

The Student Access to Treatment Emergency Act, authored by council member David A. Catania (I-At Large), will allow students who have asthma and severe allergies to self-administer prescribed medications during school hours and at school-sponsored events. D.C. students previously were not allowed to self-administer asthma medications.

The legislation is an effort to reduce complications that can result from treatment delays. Last year, in nearly 900 of the more than 8,400 asthma-related visits to D.C. school health clinics, students were taken to a hospital. The bill will give students immediate access to their medications, Catania said.