WASHINGTON, D.C. — So Jin and Soo Chung, defendants in the $54 million lost-pants lawsuit brought by Roy Pearson, have closed Custom Cleaners. The Chungs sold the plant due to the ongoing revenue losses and emotional toll resulting from the Pearson v. Chung lawsuit.
The family has closed two of its three drycleaning stores since the suit began, and now will concentrate only on its Happy Cleaners store in Washington, D.C. The Chungs hope that this store will eventually help them rebuild their business in the aftermath of the lawsuit, according to a release from Manning & Sossamon, the defendants’ legal counsel.
The Chungs have pursued the American dream diligently since emigrating from South Korea in 1992, opening three plants in Washington, D.C., over time. The family sold the third, Parks Fabricare, in 2006.
“This is a truly tragic example of how devastating frivolous litigation can be to the American people and to small businesses,” says Christopher Manning, partner in Manning & Sossamon. “This family had poured its heart and soul into their drycleaning stores, only to have their dreams crushed by Roy Pearson’s lawsuit.”
Pearson continues to pursue an appeal of the verdict, which ruled in favor of the Chungs. “Even though they were resoundingly victorious at trial, the damage was basically already done to the Chungs when Mr. Pearson filed and then, bafflingly, continued to pursue his lawsuit,” Manning says. The appeal is expected to be heard in the D.C. Court of Appeals in 2008.
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