java.lang.NumberFormatException - For input string:

[CHUCK SYPERSKI]

Here is my issue, I have a panelGrid that looks like this:

<h:panelGrid columnClasses="typicalCell, alignRight"
styleClass="accountDetails" border="0" columns="2"> 
      <f:facet name="header"> 
             <h:outputText value="#{msg.poDescTitle}" /> 
      </f:facet> 
      <h:outputText value="#{msg.poShortDesc}" /> 
       <h:outputText
value="#{visitInfo.purchaseOrder.shortDescription}" /> 
       <h:outputText value="#{msg.poDesc}"></h:outputText> 
        <h:outputText
value="#{visitInfo.purchaseOrder.description}"></h:outputText>
</h:panelGrid>

This outputs correctly for most dataset, but I am hitting a specfic
dataset where "visitInfo.purchaseOrder.shortDescription" has a line like
this:  

24 - xxxxxxxxxxxxxx @ $6.18 EA TOTAL $8.32

In my backing bean the shortDescription is a String, but for some reason
I am getting the following error:


    Exception while calling encodeEnd on component : {Component-Path :
[Class:
org.ajax4jsf.component.AjaxViewRoot,ViewId: /protected/podetails.jsp][Class: 
javax.faces.component.html.HtmlDataTable,Id: j_id_jsp_189730757_32][Class: 
javax.faces.component.UIColumn,Id: column3][Class: 
javax.faces.component.html.HtmlOutputFormat,Id: j_id_jsp_189730757_42]}

    Caused by:
    java.lang.NumberFormatException - For input string: "$6.18 EA"



I am not using a f:convertNumber or anything like that so I don't know
why my string is being converted to a number. Any help would be
appreciated, I am using myfaces 1.2.

Thanks,
Chuck