A U.S. judge, who launched a bizarre lawsuit over a pair of missing pants, has failed to take the defendants to the cleaners for US$54 million.

District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff ruled Monday that Washington's Consumer Protection Act was not violated when the owners of Custom Cleaners failed to meet Roy L. Pearson's standards.

"Plaintiff Roy L. Pearson, Jr. takes nothing from the defendants, and defendants Soo Chung, Jin Nam Chung and Ki Y. Chung are awarded the costs of this action against the plaintiff Roy L. Pearson, Jr.," the judge wrote in the ruling.

"Essentially the Judge chose common sense over irrationality and what we have here today is justice done," said Christopher Manning, the Chungs' lawyer.

"She's very, very pleased with the results today, but it's been such a hard past two years, such a difficult time," said Sue Choi, the Chungs' daughter-in-law.

Pearson, an administrative judge, claimed the owners failed to live up to their "Satisfaction Guaranteed" sign that was posted in their shop window in 2005.

Pearson originally sought $67 million after the Chungs claimed a pair of pants from his $1,000 suit went missing.

The couple, who are immigrants from Korea, later tried to return the pants to Pearson, but he claimed they were the wrong pair.

Pearson arrived at the staggering figure by adding up two years of law violations and almost $2 million in common law claims against the couple. The figure was later reduced after he dropped damages relating to the pants to focus primarily on the shop's signage.

Manning argued a reasonable person would not deem the signs an irrefutable promise of satisfaction.

"Judge Bartnoff has spoken loudly in suggesting that, while consumers should be protected, abusive lawsuits like this will not be tolerated," he said in a statement.

The lawsuit has garnered international headlines since it was launched by Pearson. The two-day trial last month drew a packed crowd of Korean supporters and media representatives.

During his testimony, Pearson broke down while recalling his missing pants. One of his witnesses, an 89-year-old woman, said she thought the Chungs would beat her the way the German Nazis beat the Jews.

But even some of the plaintiff's witnesses said while the Chungs weren't perfect, they generally gave good service.

"Mr. Pearson cost not only the taxpayers, but the Chungs a lot of money," Manning said.

Court costs for filing, photocopying and other expenses amount to $1,000, he said.

A motion to recover the Chungs' tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees will be ruled upon later.

Even if they win, "We don't know if we can collect anything from Mr. Pearson. In fact, we'd be surprised if we did," said lawyer Melinda Sossamon.

Pearson could yet appeal. He has 30 days to decide.

With a report from CTV's Joy Malbon and files from the Associated Press