I read the article, but did not read through all of the posts.
My parents have owned a dry cleaners for almost 40 years....longer than I've been alive. If (and when...it has happened) they loose an article of clothing they would ask the customer to supply a receipt, or purchase a new like item and bring in that receipt and they would reimburse them for it. Sometimes people would claim an article of clothing was way more expensive than it was. That's why they request a receipt of some kind.
My dad has been sued before. I can't remember the details of the case, but I remember him having to go to court.
So it just seems to me this guy was angry at his own life situation and decided to take it out on someone else. I also don't understand why the owner of the cleaners didn't try to settle out of court. A $50 pair of pants doesn't seem worth going to court over, from the cleaners perspective. It'd be cheaper to pay the money for the pants than the amount the man is suing for. Like I said, maybe they didn't have the option to settle out of court???