Dismissal of Lawsuit for Fraud and Misappropriation of Idea

On August 13, 2013, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District granted summary judgment in favor of Sher Tremonte’s client in a lawsuit seeking $25 million in damages. The case involved a product designer who accused Sher Tremonte’s client, a high-end cosmetics company based in New York and California, of stealing the designer’s concept for an airbrush-applied makeup system. The court dismissed all of the plaintiff’s nine causes of action, including claims of fraud, misappropriation of idea and unfair competition. The court was persuaded by Sher Tremonte’s arguments that the parties’ discussions on a blog did not constitute a binding agreement. Read the decision here and the news article here.