Hayley Paige wedding-dress dispute again sent back to federal court
17/01/2024 18:08
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Designer Hayley Paige, wedding dressmaker in fight over
use of
'Hayley Paige' name
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Appeals court said district court should reconsider social
media
control, competition ban
By Blake Brittain
Jan 17 (Reuters) - Wedding-dress designer and influencer
Hayley Paige Gutman on Wednesday received a new chance from a
U.S. appeals court to regain control of "Hayley Paige" social
media accounts and end a five-year ban on competing with
dressmaker JLM Couture JLMCQ.PK following the breakdown of
their partnership.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that a Manhattan
federal court should reconsider its decision that JLM was
entitled to exclusive control of the Instagram and Pinterest
accounts and determine whether the parties' noncompetition
agreement was too restrictive.
"We have set a productive precedent in the Second Circuit to
shield young creatives from facing what I have endured — a
monumental achievement," Gutman said in a statement.
Representatives for JLM did not immediately respond to a
request for comment on the ruling.
Gutman, who has since changed her professional name to
Cheval, is the maker of "Hayley Paige" wedding dresses and a
social media influencer. She signed on to design dresses for New
York-based JLM in 2011.
After later contract negotiations broke down, JLM said
Gutman locked the company out of the "Miss Hayley Paige"
Instagram account, promoted products from other companies
without JLM's permission and violated a noncompetition
agreement.
JLM sued Gutman in 2020. U.S. District Judge Laura Swain
granted JLM a preliminary injunction in 2021 that blocked Gutman
from competing with the company until the end of their contract
in 2022 and prevented her from using the "Hayley Paige" name in
advertising.
The 2nd Circuit upheld parts of the decision in 2022, but
sent the case back for the district court to reconsider who
should control "Miss Hayley Paige" social media accounts.
On remand last year, Swain altered the injunction to give
JLM exclusive control of the accounts and barred Gutman from
identifying herself as a designer of competing dresses for five
years based on a clause in the parties' contract.
The 2nd Circuit on Wednesday said that Swain had analyzed
ownership of the social media counts incorrectly. The appeals
court also said that Swain should reconsider whether the
competition ban was enforceable under New York law, noting that
such agreements are "disfavored" in the state and "enforced only
after careful analysis."
The court also rejected Gutman's bid to dissolve the
injunction altogether and declined to review a decision to hold
her in contempt in 2021 for Instagram posts "teasing her return
to the bridal industry."
The case is JLM Couture Inc v. Gutman, 2nd U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals, No. 21-2535.
For Gutman: Joseph Lawlor, Richard Rochford and Tiffany
Cooke of Haynes & Boone
For JLM: Sarah Matz and Gary Adelman of Adelman Matz
Read more:
Dressmaker can block designer Hayley Paige from using her
own name trademark, court says