Wedding-dress influencer wins back ‘Hayley Paige’ social-media accounts
WEDDING-DRESS designer and influencer Hayley Paige Gutman convinced a New York federal court on Wednesday to give her total control of “Hayley Paige” social-media accounts amid her dispute with JLM Couture over their broken partnership. US District Judge Laura Swain reversed her previous decision that gave wedding-dress maker JLM sole control of the Instagram and Pinterest accounts but upheld an order banning Ms. Gutman from using the “Hayley Paige” name and promoting or selling competing dresses for five years.
JLM attorney Sarah Matz of Adelman Matz in a statement said the social-media decision was “not meaningful” and involved an “empty” Instagram account, as “all of the important aspects of the injunction and prior rulings remain in place.”
Ms. Gutman’s attorneys at Haynes and Boone said in a statement that they are “thrilled for Ms. Gutman and her million-plus followers.”
Hayley Paige Gutman, who has since changed her professional name to Cheval, was the maker of “Hayley Paige” wedding dresses until 2020. She signed on to design dresses for New York-based JLM in 2011.
JLM said in its 2020 lawsuit that Ms. Gutman locked the company out of “Hayley Paige” social media, promoted products from other companies, and violated a noncompetition agreement after contract negotiations broke down.
US District Judge Laura Swain granted JLM a preliminary injunction in 2021 that blocked Ms. Gutman from competing with the company until the end of their contract, gave JLM control of “Hayley Paige” social-media accounts, and prevented her from using the “Hayley Paige” name in advertising.
The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed part of Ms. Swain’s decision in January but told the judge to reconsider who should control the accounts and whether the noncompetition agreement was too restrictive. Ms. Swain gave JLM and Ms. Gutman joint access to the accounts in a March ruling.
Ms. Swain on Wednesday dissolved her order that granted JLM control of “Hayley Paige” social media, and said that the evidence indicated that Ms. Gutman originally owned the accounts and never transferred them to the company.
The judge also affirmed that Ms. Gutman could not compete with JLM until the end of the noncompetition agreement in December 2025. — Reuters
