Fouling the Fringe

Added: 2026-05-17

[00:00:01]This is the plaintiff, Kimbrell Francis.

[00:00:04]She says she brought a very special dress to the defendant's cleaners because she supposedly specializes in exquisite garments. The defendant, however, ruined her beautiful dress. In fact, it looks like she just threw it in the wash with a bunch of other clothes.

[00:00:18]She can't seem to get any justice on her own. So, instead of taking the law into her own hands, she brought her to the people's court. She's suing for $200, the value of the dress.

[00:00:34]This is the defendant, Dorita Malone.

[00:00:37]She says she's very specific with not guaranteeing garments with fringe on them, like the one the plaintiff brought in. The plaintiff demanded she replace the garment, but she can't do that because she has a strict policy of no guarantees with regards to fringe. She thinks the judge will side with her and is anxious to present her case and clear her good name. She's accused of fouling the fringe.

[00:01:05]>> Litigates have been sworn, your honor.

[00:01:07]>> Yeah, it is.

[00:01:07]>> Thank you, Douglas. Okay. Kimbell Francis.

[00:01:10]>> Yes.

[00:01:11]>> You are suing Quan Lee doing business as Shelton Cleaners, and they are represented here by Dorita Malone.

[00:01:16]You're the general manager, correct?

[00:01:17]>> Correct.

[00:01:18]>> Okay. Uh, what happened?

[00:01:20]>> Um, I have this very dear friend of mine, older lady. She um you know took me in. We she was my mentor at church and she gave me this very expensive dress. We became very close you know once we met initially. I called her Mama Jane. We kind of adopted one another and she gave me this beautiful dress. I I told her about a special occasion that I had and there was a function I wanted to attend and she showed me this dress. She told me try it on. If it fits you, you can have it. So I tried the dress on and it fit just gorgeous. and she told me to make sure I took it to a special place to have it cleaned. You know, it was a very precious item. It was a designer dress. So, I asked around. Uh my brother's a tailor. I I knew other people in the neighborhood and they told me that I should take it to Shelton Cleaners. I took it there. Uh this was in the dead of the winter. We had a very harsh winter. I think we had about 36 in of snow. So, I didn't go back immediately to pick it up. But when I went back and picked it up, I just kind of held it in the closet cuz it was freezing. I knew I wasn't going to wear it anytime soon.

[00:02:25]>> Um later on, my sister came to visit.

[00:02:28]>> What happened to the event that she was Mama Jane was giving it to you? Was there a specific event she was?

[00:02:32]>> This was in May, so it hadn't come up yet. It was way out, you know, I just put it in the cleaners at the same time.

[00:02:38]>> Uhhuh. So go on.

[00:02:39]>> Um and when my sister came to visit in the end of March, I showed her the dress. When I went to show her the dress, I just I screamed. I screamed. It was horrible. The It looked as if they had thrown it in the washer. Uh the the bottom of it, you can see there's a lining underneath it. The lining was hanging longer than the fringes, judge.

[00:03:01]Um it was in very poor condition.

[00:03:05]And you can see in the back the the lining is still what they did in in an attempt. You see how it's frayed? Those were like little individual fringes.

[00:03:14]Now, once you if you shake it, they just kind of clump together. It's it's ruined when you you know do a little dance or something. They're just clumping together.

[00:03:27]>> They're not.

[00:03:28]>> Okay. They shouldn't be clumping when you're doing your little dance >> clumping, right? They should fall right back into place, >> right? Okay.

[00:03:36]Okay. So, what do you do?

[00:03:38]>> So, I took it back. Um I I was afraid to leave it. But I I didn't I didn't I I was afraid to leave it. But anyway, I did leave it. I took pictures of it while it was still hanging there when when I showed it to her. So, I took pictures with my cell phone and I gave her an opportunity to um talk to the owners and to try and make a uh make some corrections on it. And I went back again and that's about as far as they went with those repairs.

[00:04:07]>> Okay. Miss Malone, are you the person who took in the dress or no?

[00:04:11]>> No. All right. What happened?

[00:04:13]>> The knit had contracted.

[00:04:16]It had shrunk. It's that simple. The fringe was frayed. It had just unraveled. It had frayed.

[00:04:27]>> It did not look good.

[00:04:29]>> Okay. It just There's absolutely >> And do you have anything else to say in your defense?

[00:04:35]>> I just I >> All I could do was apologize. I said it it never should have been bagged. When you see a garment like that, you just need to take it back to processing.

[00:04:50]Okay.

[00:04:50]>> There's you don't put it in a bag >> and try to give it back to the customer.

[00:04:55]>> No, >> because it should be that evident from looking at it that there's that problem.

[00:04:59]>> Yes. Okay.

[00:05:00]>> The per maybe the person who's sorting doesn't know how it came in. Maybe it looked that way when it came in. I don't know.

[00:05:05]>> The first thing I >> Who's the person who accepted it?

[00:05:08]because you have a policy at your store about fringe. Tell me about that.

[00:05:11]>> Okay. We have a policy about trim. When we write the receipt and I have a sample here I'd like to show you, >> but it is not her actual receipt.

[00:05:21]>> Mhm.

[00:05:22]>> Okay. And I say this because at the very bottom when you read the ticket, it says see note and there's a note at the bottom.

[00:05:30]>> Buttons trim not guaranteed.

[00:05:32]>> Correct.

[00:05:33]>> So the per Do you have yours?

[00:05:36]>> No, I do believe she kept that. No. When they pick up their clothes, we keep both copies. Yeah.

[00:05:40]>> All right. Well, but this is this is what's on your machine, >> correct?

[00:05:44]>> All right. Now, what ends up happening here? She described to you how it should look. You think you have an idea in your head, but it can't >> I fixed it the best I could.

[00:05:51]>> I got it.

[00:05:51]>> Okay.

[00:05:53]>> She didn't like it. I said, "I talked to my employers. They stuck to their policy. All garments." What policy? The >> All garments are cleaned.

[00:06:01]>> All trim is cleaned with no guarantee.

[00:06:05]>> Did you read the receipt?

[00:06:08]No, I didn't. I mean, she >> most people don't.

[00:06:12]>> Responsibility also is disclaimed for trimmings, buckles, beads, buttons, bells, and sequins.

[00:06:18]>> Every cleaner says the same thing, you know.

[00:06:20]>> Yes. Basically, >> I drop off my clothes and then I get this receipt after I've already given you my clothes. And so, the premise is that I'm going to stop, tell the person behind me, just a second. Hold on. Wait a minute. I got some reading to do. Do you got a magnifying glass? Okay, >> hold on. HOLD ON. WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT. BRING BACK THAT BACK. BRING back that back because I've changed my mind based on what I now know the policy to be after I gave you my clothes and walked off. I mean, >> it's tough, you know. Let me ask you a question. Was there ever any discussion about settling this?

[00:06:49]>> Yes.

[00:06:50]>> Okay. She pulled out her calculator and based on the whatever figure she pulled out said 10 times the amount and she said $98, I believe. I said, "Round it off to 100."

[00:07:02]>> Okay. She said, "Okay, I got to, you know, go back and talk to the owners."

[00:07:06]And then I get back $30 credit.

[00:07:12]$30 for my time running back and forth because I went up there about six times, much less the amount of time I spent on the phone.

[00:07:20]>> 10 times our charge for processing it.

[00:07:22]So, it should be 14025 is the limit. But anyway, you say she offered you 100. Did you offer her 100 and then change it to 30?

[00:07:28]>> I did not. The offer was the refund of her cleaning price plus $30 for her gas because she said she had been there so many times to discuss this situation.

[00:07:39]So it was an approximately $45.

[00:07:42]>> Seriously, we're here over 55 bucks.

[00:07:45]>> We're here over $55.

[00:07:49]>> And your your your boss holds to a nickel, I gotta say, because what is it costing your boss for the general manager to be here all day for court? It's just sort of odd, right?

[00:07:59]>> Because she has no proof of the cost of the garment. She gives us an approximate cost and then says, "I want $100."

[00:08:10]>> Okay. So now, do you have any proof of the cost of the garment?

[00:08:13]>> I have a letter, a statement from the owner, the one that gave it to me.

[00:08:17]>> Mama J.

[00:08:17]>> Yeah, Mama J.

[00:08:18]>> Let's see.

[00:08:19]>> Yes, indeed. I got a whole bunch of stuff here. I got pictures. I got a statement from Mama J. I got a picture.

[00:08:25]>> What? what you need to.

[00:08:26]>> Or did she get nasty at all?

[00:08:30]Uh >> oh.

[00:08:33]>> Go ahead.

[00:08:34]>> She wrote a letter to my employers.

[00:08:36]>> Oh yeah. Here's the letter. You want to see that, too?

[00:08:38]>> That totally and completely misqued every conversation I've had with her.

[00:08:47]The same way she's misqued the things that I've said, >> okay, >> in this court.

[00:08:53]And welcome back to the people's court.

[00:08:55]Harvey Leven here. So when you take a dress or a jacket to the dry cleaner with fringe, are you taking your chances? What do you think?

[00:09:02]>> Yeah.

[00:09:02]>> Why? I mean, it's if it's an expensive dress, why shouldn't they be able to do it?

[00:09:05]>> Well, it depends on which one you went to. If it's an expensive or if it's like down the street?

[00:09:09]>> No. No. But I mean, like in this dry in any dry cleaner, if they if they take your dress, shouldn't it all come back?

[00:09:15]Okay.

[00:09:15]>> It should all come back. Okay. But it's not guaranteed. It depends on the the dry cleaners. Uh >> I can't believe you're >> I completely disagree. If you're paying someone for a service, they're supposed to do it right. You don't pay someone to do something.

[00:09:29]>> Like, oops, I only ruined a quarter of it. You know, really going inside the courtroom.

[00:09:33]>> Basically, she says that you that you admitted that it was done wrong. The question I have though, and I've had this, this is not the my first dry cleaning case, I've got to tell you. And the question that I have is, you know, how how fair is it to bind the person to the fine print that requires a magnifying glass to read on the back of a receipt that they don't get until they've given you the clothing.

[00:09:57]>> So, the older I get, the more it's bothering me.

[00:10:00]>> May I say something?

[00:10:01]>> And as I always say, I LOVE MY CLEANERS, OKAY? BUT I but I I just like it just, YOU KNOW, IT'D BE FINE IF IN THE 452 other signs that you have up there, right?

[00:10:11]>> Uh you would also put, oh, by the way, we disclaim any response nice and big where they can see it and adopt it. Now, where's that sign?

[00:10:20]>> Yeah, right.

[00:10:20]>> If if you're at the counter leaving your clothes, >> which I'm not, BUT GO AHEAD.

[00:10:25]>> It would be like right here.

[00:10:29]>> Would I wouldn't I have that in the picture that she took?

[00:10:32]The dress will be covering it.

[00:10:34]>> I can't see that picture from there.

[00:10:41]>> Thank you. No, it's on the It's on the other counter. It's on the other counter.

[00:10:48]>> So, not the counter she stands at, but some other counter. That's where >> it's right next to it. It's just like us.

[00:10:53]>> See, they they're not bound by the policy. They're not bound by the policy unless they know the policy. And I just think that this is a close one where you can't show that you told her the policy.

[00:11:03]The policyy's written in tiny tiny print on the back of her receipt. She doesn't get until after she's left the item there. And the sign is not where she's handing in her clothes, but somewhere down.

[00:11:12]>> That's not where she handed her.

[00:11:14]>> $100 verdict for the plainif and her your court costs as well. Okay. Thank you.

[00:11:18]>> Good luck, folks.

[00:11:22]>> Well, this dramatic testimony has resulted in a verdict for the plaintiff, meaning step in here. you lose your case. What's your reaction coming out?

[00:11:30]>> I disagree. I disagree. There's just no other way to say it.

[00:11:35]>> Are you going to make sure that from now on your customers are aware of that policy? Maybe point out the sign, make sure they hear that.

[00:11:43]>> All customers who leave us garments with trim are told when they change anything.

[00:11:49]Even though >> they are told when they put the garment on the counter that all trim is not guaranteed. They're told that. Mhm.

[00:11:58]>> That's the way I train my employees.

[00:12:00]>> Okay, fair enough. Good luck.

[00:12:02]>> Thank you.

[00:12:05]>> Wow.

[00:12:06]>> Yes.

[00:12:06]>> Well, congratulations. This was >> You didn't get I mean, a lot of money out of this case. What were you really here for?

[00:12:13]>> It was the principle of the whole idea that she mentioned to me that they did not they they from time to time would hire people who were not qualified >> and when they were very busy. So, >> and that's the dress.

[00:12:25]>> That's not a dress. Look at my dress.

[00:12:28]>> It looks beautiful to me.

[00:12:29]>> Look at No, see, you're not a woman.

[00:12:31]See, you can't figure out those little fringes. But that that's very important.

[00:12:34]But it's, you know, >> I think you'd look fantastic in that dress.

[00:12:38]>> Now, now if you had Now, this beautiful thing you're wearing right there. Would you take that into her, please?

[00:12:43]>> No. No way. They'll never get any more business from me. Never.

[00:12:46]>> Over to Harvey.

[00:12:47]>> Thank you.

[00:12:48]>> Okay, Kurt, if you have a disclaimer that you want to put and you have a business, the best thing to do, don't worry about signs or anything like that.

[00:12:55]put it in the contract. It will protect you. And that will do it for this case litigance for the next case on the way into the courtroom right now.