The U.S. division of Dolce & Gabbana has been dismissed from a proposed class-action lawsuit over its parent company’s alleged failure to follow through on a non-fungible token (NFT) initiative.
In a ruling issued Friday, U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald found that Dolce & Gabbana USA Inc. is not legally the “alter ego” of its Milan-based parent company, Dolce & Gabbana SRL, and therefore cannot be held liable in the case.
The lawsuit, originally filed in May 2024 and amended in September, was brought by a group of NFT buyers who accused Dolce & Gabbana and its U.S. arm of acting as a single entity. The plaintiffs claimed the fashion house failed to deliver on its “DGFamily” NFT project, launched in 2022, and retained more than $25 million from the sales.
The future of the lawsuit is now uncertain, as Dolce & Gabbana USA was the only defendant based in the United States. Other named defendants include UNXD Inc., a Dubai-based NFT marketplace, and Bluebear Italia SRL, the Italian creator of the “inBetweeners” NFT collection. The court noted that neither of these foreign entities had been formally served with the complaint.
Lawsuit Alleges Dolce & Gabbana Abandoned NFT Project
The lawsuit alleged that Dolce & Gabbana, in partnership with UNXD, developed and promoted the DGFamily NFT project, which promised buyers “high-value” benefits to be delivered quarterly over a two-year period.
These perks reportedly included digital wearables for the Decentraland metaverse, exclusive physical apparel, and access to live events for NFT holders.
However, the complaint claimed that Dolce & Gabbana failed to deliver the full range of promised benefits and retained millions of dollars generated from the NFT sales.
Dolce & Gabbana’s U.S. arm argued that it had no involvement in the NFT project
In January, Dolce & Gabbana USA moved to dismiss the lawsuit, asserting that it is a separate legal entity with no connection to the actions of its Italian parent company.
“D&G USA has not entered into any joint venture with UNXD, or any other entity, to sell, advertise, or promote any NFTs,” the company stated.
It further argued that the complaint itself showed the NFT project originated with the parent company in Italy and failed to provide sufficient evidence linking the U.S. arm to the initiative.
Judge Says Lawsuit Failed to Distinguish Between Dolce & Gabbana USA and Italian Parent
Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald ruled that the lawsuit was “plainly insufficient to withstand D&G USA’s motion to dismiss,” noting that the complaint lumped together the U.S. and Italian entities under the single name “Dolce & Gabbana” and failed to specify which company was responsible for the alleged misconduct.
While the amended complaint pointed to “overlap in ownership, officers, directors, and personnel” — including a shared CEO, chief operating officer, and IT and marketing executives — the judge noted it did not include concrete examples of how those individuals were involved in the NFT project.
“The Court finds that plaintiff has not adequately alleged that D&G S.R.L. completely dominated D&G USA,” Judge Buchwald concluded, even if the two entities allegedly shared employees and office space.
