Judge Sues Cleaners For $67 M

Posted by Jerry Lopper May 11, 2007

Mistakes Were Made (but not by me) describes the characteristic we all have of self justifying our mistakes and foolish decisions. It's called cognitive dissonance in psychological terms and there's no better example of it than the story of the Washington, D.C. judge who is suing his cleaners over a pair of lost trousers. The judge is suing for $67 million!

According to an article on NBC5.com, May 2, 2007, the cleaners lost a pair of suit trousers. They found the trousers a week later and returned them, but the judge maintains the trousers aren't his. The cleaners initially offered $3,000, three times the entire suit's value, as settlement, but the judge rejected it. Subsequently, a settlement offer of $12,000 was offered; this was also rejected. The $67 million trouser lawsuit goes to trial in June.

Cognitive dissonance is the stress we feel when we attempt to hold two conflicting thoughts or beliefs. I feel certain the judge views himself as a fair and honest person. But now he's suing a mom & pop cleaning establishment owned by two Korean immigrants for $67 million. That doesn't seem like the action of a fair and honest person, especially since the cleaners offered a settlement of twelve times the trouser's value.

The way we reduce the stress of cognitive dissonance is by self justifying and rationalizing our behaviors. No longer claiming the trousers are the issue, the judge is now claiming the cleaners committed fraud by advertising "Satisfaction Guaranteed" and "Same Day Service."

This seems to be a classic demonstration of self justification and rationalization in response to cognitive dissonance.