Not Their Bag: Dolce & Gabbana USA Dismissed from NFT Fraud Case

Dolce & Gabbana USA Inc., the American branch of the Italian luxury fashion house, has been dismissed by a federal judge from a class-action lawsuit involving its NFT project.

Dolce & Gabbana USA Was Not Behind Failed NFT Project

According to a July 11 ruling from Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald of the Southern District of New York, Dolce & Gabbana USA Inc. is cleared from the high-profile litigation as it is not an “alter ego” of its parent company, Dolce & Gabbana SRL, which was in charge of the NFT-focused “DGFamily” project.

“The Court finds that plaintiff has not adequately alleged that D&G S.R.L. completely dominated D&G USA even if D&G S.R.L. allegedly shared some employees and office space with D&G USA,” the filing states in part.

“For the foregoing reasons, D&G USA’s motion is granted,” Reice concludes.

DGFamily NFT Project Slammed As Rug Pull In Lawsuit

Filed in May and amended in September 2024, the lawsuit alleges that Dolce & Gabbana US and its Italian counterpart abandoned the “DGFamily” NFT project and failed to deliver on the mission’s promises while retaining customer funds.

According to the Dolce & Gabbana website, “DGFamily” supposedly provided access to exclusive drops and collaborations, digital wearables, physical products, and events hosted by the company.

However, the litigation implies that the iconic fashion house’s digital asset venture was nothing more than a classic “rug pull.”

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Dolce&Gabbana and @UNXD_NFT announce the highly anticipated launch of the DGFamily community. 3 distinct Boxes + digital, physical, & experiential benefits that take holders on a journey between real life & the metaverse.https://t.co/JMmmWZuRPuhttps://t.co/sCWuIQSwnD

🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/r5t0M3FfBs

— Dolce & Gabbana (@dolcegabbana) February 21, 2022

“Each of Defendants’ misrepresentations and omissions were material because they were designed to, and did, entice the public into purchasing unregistered securities (DGFamily Products) which were barely more than a vehicle for the Defendants’ enrichment,” the lawsuit reads.

“Either through reckless incompetence or greed, Defendants failed to deliver what they promised in exchange for purchasing their digital assets and abandoned their crypto project while retaining over $25 million used to fund the project,” it continues.

With the U.S. branch now cleared from the litigation, it remains unclear how the lawsuit will proceed.