A judge has ordered Ivanka Trump to testify after rejecting her claim that she is too busy as a "high-ranking government official" in the White House. With the claim denied, Trump must be deposed for a case brought against her clothing company, The Business of Fashion reports.
She will be asked questions pertaining to a lawsuit filed by Aquazzura Italia SRL who claims that Ivanka Trump's company, IT Collection LLC, as well as their shoemaker Marc Fisher Holdings, copied one of their designs.
The case alleges that her company directly copied Aquazzura's shoe "Wild Thing" to design their "Hettie" shoe. The Italian brand claims that the copying was intentional, in order to produce a low-cost version, priced at $130, of their popular design which retails for $785. Both shoes have similar features, such as tasseled ankle ties and a fringed strap.
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On Friday, U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest in Manhattan said that Trump must spend two hours answering questions about the shoe in question. This came after Forrest rejected the claim submitted by Trump's lawyer stating that, "The deposition of Ms. Trump would be an unnecessary distraction and would interfere with her ability to perform her duties at the White House." Instead, Trump's lawyers suggested that Abigail Klem, IT Collection’s president, answer the questions.
This is not the first time that Ivanka Trump's namesake company has face legal issues. Earlier this year, a class-action lawsuit was brought against them by a San Francisco-based fashion boutique citing an unfair advantage due to Donald Trump promoting his daughter's line on Twitter.
Ivanka Trump made a statement, which was filed with the court on June 16, suggesting that she did not have enough involvement in the design process to speak about it. "I had no involvement in the conception, design, production or sale of the ‘Hettie Shoe,’" Trump said. "My involvement was strictly limited to the final sign-off of each season’s line after it was first reviewed and approved by the company’s design team."
The legal team at Aquazzura argues that Trump shouldn't be allowed to minimize her role at her company as a shoe designer.
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