Alex and Ani Files Massive Lawsuit Against Bank of America for Discrimination
Friday, July 26, 2019
It was just a few years ago that Bank of America featured Alex and Ani in a nationwide ad.
Now in a lawsuit filed in federal court in the Southern District of New York, Alex and Ani’s attorney alleges that Bank of America has caused as much as $1.1 billion in damages.
In an interview with GoLocal, Alex and Ani attorney Harmeet Dhillon said that there was a pattern of gender discrimination and that women executives at Alex and Ani were constantly “belittled in meetings.”
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTDhillon said, "The Bank of America attitude was women should keep to their knitting and leave the banking to the men.”
Further, Dhillon says that while Bank of America execs were ignoring critical input from Alex and Ani execs they were adding more and more fees and expenses to the company.
The Bank of America ad’s copy that featured Alex and Ani said, "before handcrafted jewelry was creating positive energy and a life of purpose and meaning was infused into a corporate culture, there was a commitment to creating new jobs out of recycled metals right here in America. And a bank that helped Carolyn Rafaelian business grow from a Rhode Island storefront into a global sensation, that's the beauty of connecting a vision to an enterprise -- that's Bank of America."
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Dhillon said that Bank of America piled on fees and expenses.
The lawsuit alleges, “Alex and Ani made its payments. It complied with the terms of its bargain. But in December 2018, Bank of America broke its promise. With no warning, and in breach of its contractual obligations, Bank of America declared a default under the 2016 Agreement. In fact, there was no default in December 2018, but Bank of America wouldn’t listen—another breach of its promises to Alex and Ani. And by falsely declaring a default, Bank of America set off a cascading series of events that cost Alex and Ani more than $1.1 billion in direct expenses, lost revenues, and diminished market value.”
Bank of America in a statement to GoLocal disputes Alex and Ani’s claims and writes:
“Bank of America serves as administrative agent on this credit facility for a group of seven banks, which have taken the appropriate steps to enforce the terms of that agreement. As the complaint itself notes, the company has faced serious financial challenges for nearly two years. The banks have worked closely with the company during this time. Bank of America’s demonstrated record of support for diverse businesses is well-noted and widely recognized.”
The lawsuit alleges that Alex and Ani tried to work through their issues, “True to their nature, Alex and Ani persisted in the face of these obstacles thrown in its way by its lender and supposed ally, Bank of America. In fact, thanks to the hard work and financial acumen of its female-led executive team, Alex and Ani has actually shown year-over-year earnings growth in some months of 2019, despite being starved of critical marketing and operational capital by Bank of America. But make no mistake—BofA had driven Alex and Ani to the precipice. No amount of acumen, savvy, and hard work can fully overcome a primary lender’s sustained, illegal deprivation of operating capital, coupled with millions of dollars a month in unnecessary fees and interest demanded at the threat of liquidating the company.”
The crux of the lawsuit is that the male-dominated bankers at Bank of America mistreated the women-led Alex and Ani.
This story was first published 7/25/19 3:10 PM
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