NEW YORK — Vince Camuto, owner of the Jessica Simpson master license, has filed a $100 million counterclaim against Tarrant Apparel Group, which this month sued Simpson and Camuto for $100 million over Simpson’s alleged failure to promote her lines.
Tarrant filed the suit alleging several breach of contract claims against Camuto and one against Simpson in New York State Supreme Court, alleging it had lost $25 million and will lose another $75 million through the remainder of its licensing agreement.
In a statement, Camuto, the principal of Camuto Consulting Group Inc. and VCJS LLC, the master licensee for the Jessica Simpson line of products, said: “Today we filed our counterclaim against Tarrant Apparel Group in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, seeking in excess of $100 million for the damages caused by its misconduct in breaching and abandoning its contractual obligations under the sublicense for the Jessica Simpson sportswear apparel line. In stark contrast to the assertions in Tarrant’s complaint filed against us, our counterclaim details the facts and references dozens of documents that establish Tarrant’s wrongful conduct.”
Camuto also said, “The counterclaim also sets forth the extensive undertakings that were made by Ms. Simpson and our company to support the Jessica Simpson apparel line. It is now abundantly clear that Tarrant was unwilling or unable to make the financial commitments required to meet its obligations and apparently filed a lawsuit to divert public attention from their breaches, undermine Ms. Simpson and cause harm to our company for which we fully intend to hold Tarrant responsible.
“There is simply no celebrity I am aware of who works harder than Jessica Simpson for her brands, and Tarrant’s suggestion otherwise is simply unfounded.”