Fox Rothschild Sues Miss America Organization for Unpaid Fees
Just as its first post-swimsuit competition was getting underway in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the pageant organization was accused of stiffing its lawyers to the tune of $100,000.
September 07, 2018 at 01:42 PM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on The Legal Intelligencer
(Photo: Elina Leonova/Shutterstock.com)
The Miss America Organization has failed to pay nearly $100,000 in legal bills to Fox Rothschild, the firm alleges in a lawsuit against the pageant organization.
Fox Rothschild filed a complaint Wednesday in New Jersey state court against the nonprofit that runs the annual Miss America pageant. The firm says Miss America—which is currently hosting its annual pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey—owes $98,206.90 for legal services.
The suit, filed in Atlantic County Superior Court, seeks damages of at least that amount, plus attorney fees and interest.
According to the complaint, Miss America executive chair Gretchen Carlson has previously acknowledged the debt. In March, she communicated to the firm, “'We are not disputing the total services billed … and I am hoping your firm will consider extending payment of these fees to the second quarter.'”
The firm sent a pre-action notice to the organization in July, the complaint said, but the organization has made no payments.
Fox Rothschild did not indicate in the complaint what kind of legal services it was providing to the Miss America Organization, or how long it was a client of the firm.
A spokeswoman for Fox Rothschild said the firm does not comment on ongoing litigation. A spokesman for the Atlantic City-based Miss America Organization said it would respond in its answer to the complaint and declined to comment further.
The organization faced scandal last year, and resignation of top officials including CEO Sam Haskell, when HuffPost released a number of emails in which Haskell and others in the organization's leadership disparaged former winners of the pageant and made sexist comments about them.
Under the leadership of its new chairman, Carlson, and CEO, Regina Hopper, the organization announced this summer that the competition would no longer include a swimsuit competition and contestants will no longer be judged by their physical appearance.
Earlier this month, current Miss America Cara Mund wrote a letter accusing the organization of silencing her by instructing her to stick to specific talking points and not allowing her to do certain interviews. The organization responded in a statement that the letter “contains mischaracterizations and many unfounded accusations.”
Fox Rothschild's suit was filed just as this year's competition was kicking off. Preliminary competitions are currently underway in Atlantic City, and the televised competition is set to take place Sunday.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
