from www.laweekly.com – A countersuit against an interior designer by Girls Gone Wild founder and Douche of the Decade Joe Francis was in doubt Wednesday as a Los Angeles Superior Court judge gave the video producer three weeks to continue the action or give it up. The judge was actually inclined to throw the whole thing out but said he would give Francis 20 more days to proceed.

Francis’ suit against Ralph T. Haenisch [pictured right] and his Trip Haenisch & Associates Inc. alleges that the designer did not have a contractor’s license and charged as much as ten times the normal rate for decorating his Bel Air house. Francis wants a refund.

Haenisch had already filed suit against Francis seeking at least $285,000 for the furnishing and decoration of the home, which Francis wanted to make a “showpiece to the world,” according to the case file.

The action also accuses Francis of defaming the decorator and intimidating him via email after Haenisch appeared on a witness list for a federal tax evasion case against the video guru. Francis, ever sue-happy (or countersuit-happy), denies the claims.

It’s not clear, however, if he’ll proceed: His lawyers in the countersuit have withdrawn from the case, Haenisch’s lawyer told the judge.