FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Paul Lyon, Spokesman, (570) 338-0158 or (570) 574-3089 (cell)

DATE: May 7, 2007

CJA Calls Lost Pants Lawsuit ‘Outrageous’

KINGSTON, Pa. (May 7, 2007) – A group of Northeastern Pennsylvania trial attorneys who advocate for the legal rights of injured people today issued a statement denouncing a claim by a Washington, D.C., judge who sued a dry cleaner for $65 million over a lost pair of pants.

“As lawyers who represent seriously injured people, we are offended by anyone abusing the legal system for trivial purposes,” said CJA President David I. Fallk, a Scranton trial attorney. “Unfortunately, these kinds of outrageous cases grab headlines. Even worse, they are used by opponents of our civil justice system to undermine the vast majority of valid cases, which are based on real and serious injuries.”

Attorney Fallk noted that state and federal rules of judicial procedure bar attorneys from intentionally filing meritless lawsuits under penalty of sanctions and even disbarment. In addition, the Code of Conduct of the American Association for Justice, which represents the nation’s trial attorneys, states that its members will “not prosecute or counsel any action, or assert any claim or defense, which is false, frivolous or wholly insubstantial.”

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