Thankfully the dry cleaner prevailed.
The article says the dry cleaner recovered their costs. Unfortunately, that usually does not include attorney's fees. Which is a problem with our system. This lawyer/judge who brought the case likely knew it was a "free" shot. If he had a chance of getting stuck with paying the dry cleaner's attorney's fees if he lost, he might have thought twice about bringing the case and/or pursuing it to the end.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_67_Million_Pants.html