Recent Jury Case

In June 2017, my partner and I represented an interior designer in a 3 day jury trial in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, from claims that she had defrauded a client in designing and furnishing the interior of his loft. The suit was filed under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act which is a law that makes it easier for a consumer to receive money damages than what was done under “common law” fraud theories which existed for hundreds of years.

There was expert testimony from both parties as to the usual and customary practices of interior designers as to what they can charge for products ordered in for a design job. Is the consumer able to receive the product at the cost of what the designer paid, or can the designer charge a normal markup? And must the designer give his or her client the invoices for what the designer paid the supplier of the product?

Our position was that it was reasonable for the designer to charge a normal markup for the goods sold, and apparently the jury agreed with us as they came back with a verdict in our client’s favor within a short time. Another victory for small business!