Cody Foster & Co. has filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Urban Outfitters and subsidiary company Anthropologie, alleging that the retailers canceled orders following claims that Cody Foster infringed on another artist's original work. Attorney Brian Jorde of Domina Law Group is representing Cody Foster, a Valentine, Nebraska-based company, in the suit.
Cody Foster is seeking an outstanding balance of over $576,000 plus interest over 124 ornament purchase orders.
The suit states, ""Defendants refuse to pay amounts owed under contract, seek to return the items to Cody Foster at Cody Foster's expense and cancel all pending orders."
According to Jorde, Urban Outfitters and its subsidiaries backed out of a deal and expected Cody Foster to pick up the slack.
This is a significant financial loss for Cody Foster & Co., a company that grosses about $3 million in annual sales.
Last year, Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie announced that they would no longer do business with Cody Foster & Co. after hearing infringement claims via social media. No official claim of infringement was ever filed against Cody Foster, which would have been necessary for the retailers to back out of the deal legitimately. Since no such claims were filed, Jorde says, Cody Foster is entitled to the outstanding balance.