Louboutin Wins Injunction Against Former Employee
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Christian Louboutin scored an early victory in its suit against a former employee when a judge in New York granted the company a preliminary injunction based on its claims of trademark infringement and breach of contract.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Louis Stanton gave the order on Jan. 8, blocking former Louboutin employee Mehdi Mohamed Nasrallah from using Louboutin trademarks—including its red sole—to deceive consumers.
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Louboutin filed suit against Nasrallah in December, claiming that he stole or obtained thousands of dollars worth of samples during his time as a boutique employee in France and New York. Nasrallah allegedly sold the stolen Louboutins via social media, initially shipping them from France to the U.S., and then continuing the operation after being transferred to the Christian Louboutin Madison Avenue store in New York, where he served as assistant manager. Nasrallah was fired from that position for the alleged “stolen goods scheme.”
The December suit argued that Nasrallah breached his employment agreement that prohibits employees from reselling any Louboutin product as well as disclosing any confidential information, such as in-development product samples.
In his ruling, Stanton said Louboutin “has shown that it will suffer irreparable harm to its brand from Nasrallah’s sale of the sample products that have not been subject to Louboutin’s quality control procedures to the public if a preliminary injunction is not issued.”
Stanton also agreed that Nasrallah breached his employment contract, in which he agreed to comply with policies set out in the Louboutin employee handbook. The handbook states that employees agree that they may receive an injunction if they disclose confidential company information.
The injunction bars Nasrallah and anyone working with him on the “stolen goods scheme” from using a dozen registered Louboutin trademarks, including its signature red sole.
This case is the latest in a string of legal battles for Louboutin. The company partnered with Meta in November to file a joint lawsuit against Cesar Octavio Guerrero Aleja, an alleged counterfeiter in Mexico. Louboutin also sued Vinci Leather in May 2023, alleging the company infringed on the luxury label’s shoe designs.
