According to a complaint filed 5 March in the New York State Supreme Court, Love signed a contract in August 2023 to work as a designer for Alex and Ani. It’s reported that she would be paid $USD21,000 a month for three years and up to $USD2 million per year in royalties.
In March 2024, the suit says, Alex and Ani CEO Prita Kumar informed Love the brand was terminating the deal due to financial pressure.
As reported by JCK Online, Love initiated an arbitration against Alex and Ani in Los Angeles. In December, the arbitrator ruled in Love’s favor, stating that Alex and Ani owed Love unpaid royalties and had to post a security bond of more than $USD200,000.
During the arbitration, independent board member Larry Meyer declared that the brand’s revenues had declined after it filed for bankruptcy in June 2021. Alex and Ani’s defense in the arbitration was that it was insolvent.
Meyer stated that Alex and Ani’s secured lender was unwilling to extend further financing and foreclosed on the company's assets.
“It is not unusual for the failure of a company that was unable to reverse profit direction post-bankruptcy. At this time, I am managing the company’s orderly shutdown.”
The complaint alleges that a lien transfer was initiated to hinder creditors like Love, suggesting that a purported foreclosure was ‘in name only’.
“In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in New York, Love and her attorneys are seeking to collect the unpaid money while also alleging that the jewellery brand’s owners — including a company held by LA celebrity attorney Mark Geragos — engaged in a ‘shell game’ and orchestrated ‘a collusive foreclosure’ to dodge paying Love and other creditors,” write Matt Hamilton of YahooFinance.
“The suit names the jewellery company's two owners: the Bathing Club, which it alleges is controlled by Geragos, and LC A&A Holdings, which it alleges is controlled by financier Lyndon Lea through the private equity fund Lion Capital.”
The suit claims Love is owed at least $USD6.75 million, including legal fees. Alex and Ani was founded by designer Carolyn Rafaelian in 2004.
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