Russell Simmons has said that his companies have filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of the State of New York against The Millwork Trading Co, a subsidary of Li & Fung.
However, Hong Kong-based sourcing giant Li & Fung describes the claims as being “without merit”.
A statement from Simmons says the lawsuit is for “fraud and breach of contract in connection to the ‘American Classics By Russell Simmons’ and ‘Russell Simmons Argyleculture’ trademarks. The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages in excess of US$55m.
A statement by Li & Fung US said: “We will vigorously defend the lawsuit and believe the claims are without merit. LF USA has a solid track record of building and growing successful brands.”
In his statement Simmons said: “In 2007, Li & Fung USA, a division of the Hong Kong-based apparel-sourcing powerhouse, which purported to be the market leader in the development of proprietary brands, approached me about obtaining the exclusive license for American Classics, my smart budget mass-market apparel brand. At that time we made it clear that Simmons Design Group’s main focus was Argyleculture, and that the two brands needed to work synergistically and belonged together. They expressed a false enthusiasm for my flagship brand in order to induce me into licensing them my mass-market brand.”
He now claims Li & Fung USA never intended perform its contractual obligations under both the Argyleculture and American Classics trademarks.
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By GlobalData“Therefore I have taken this action to protect my partnerships with retailers and recover millions in damages on behalf of my brands and to protect my name and reputation in the industry,” he said.
