LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A judge confirmed a $10.6 million award that three Kardashian sisters obtained in arbitration in a dispute with a hedge fund regarding the funding of a line of beauty products.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Richard Fruin handed down his final decision Friday. He heard arguments June 25 and said he wanted to study the issues further before issuing a final ruling. He said he would review a transcript of the June 25 hearing, which included lengthy attorney arguments, as part of his review.
In its ruling, the arbitration panel directed Hillair Capital Investments LP to pay Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian nearly $7.4 million and another $3.2 million in interest. The sisters then filed a petition for confirmation of the award.
``After having heard all the evidence, the arbitration panel saw through Hillair's ruse,'' the Kardashian petition states. ``This petition arises out of a series of very bad bets that Hillair made, which led to very serious damages to the Kardashians.''
Hillair filed the lawsuit in March 2016, alleging the fund put up millions of dollars in July 2014 to help the sisters keep the beauty line afloat after former distributor Boldface encountered legal and financial troubles.
Hillair's suit stated the fund agreed to pay for the ongoing distribution costs of the line and that the Kardashians said they would continue to be the face of the line and actively promote it.
Hillair's lawyers maintained the sisters had a duty to market and support the line and that the arbitration panel went beyond its authority.
The panel exceeded its powers, granted relief that bears no rational relationship to the contract and the breach and instead dispensed its own brand of industrial justice,'' Hillair's attorneys stated in their court papers. ``The award must thus be vacated.''
Lawyers for the Kardashians maintained all of Hillair's allegations were subject to arbitration based on written contracts between the parties. They Kardashian lawyers also maintained Hillair failed to abide by the parties' agreements, not the Kardashians.
Kardashian lawyer Michael Kump said the arbitration panel consisted of three retired judges with more than 60 years of collective experience.