Dry Cleaners in $54M Pants Suit Closes

Sept. 19, 2007— -- The owners of a dry cleaning store, sued for $54 million over a lost pair of pants, have been forced to close their store because of the financial and emotional toll of the lawsuit, their lawyer said Wednesday.

Korean immigrants Jin and Soo Chung have closed down Custom Cleaners, which they ran since 2000, said their lawyer Christopher Manning. They still own another dry cleaning shop in Washington, D.C., called Happy Cleaners.

The Chungs were sued by Roy Pearson, a D.C. administrative law judge, over a lost pair of prized pants that he planned to wear on his first day of work as a judge. Pearson initially asked for $67 million, but later reduced the requested compensation to $54 million. He lost his case, but is appealing, and that's expected to be heard next year.

"This is a truly tragic example of how devastating frivolous litigation can be to the American people, and to small businesses," Manning said. "This family had poured its heart and soul into their dry cleaning stores, only to have their dreams crushed by Roy Pearson's lawsuit."

Lawyers Call Suit a 'Nightmare'

The strange case exploded into the headlines in the spring and outraged several legal groups, prompting fundraisers and an online legal defense fund for the Chungs.

The American Tort Reform Association raised about $70,000 for the couple's defense. In a statement, the group decried the suit as a "nightmare" that it felt compelled to speak out on "on behalf of all small business owners just like the Chungs who are regularly targeted by personal injury lawyers because, unlike large companies, they often don't have the resources to defend themselves."

A spokesman for the American Association of Justice, the largest trial lawyers organization in the nation, told ABC News the case was "outrageous and shameful." The group filed a complaint with the District of Columbia bar.

Tearful Testimony, Internet Fundraising

ABC News looked into the case and covered the story extensively and was the first news outlet to interview the Chungs. Online response was so strongly in favor of the couple that a defense fund was set up on the Internet by the Chungs' lawyer, Chris Manning, who has repeatedly declined to say how much money has been raised.