LIFE UPDATE: Three years ago this week we made an offer on a 24 acre property to expand my brand and chase my next big dream of opening a storefront! That offer was accepted, we paid cash, closed and started the process of transitioning to 100 percent LOVE Lindsey
It was a major decision, done with much thought and care, but also done with confidence and was necessary to see my dreams become a reality!! The dream has always been so much more than clothes, it’s about community!
A place to not only serve my amazing online family all over the country that we have fostered over the last decade but also create a unique local space for friends to come and shop and meetup!
But shortly after purchasing the land which had no restrictions or zoning limitations, the seller, represented by one of its shareholders, a developer out of California tried to force us to sign an easement that would have restricted our use to only residential. We tried to negotiate and find a reasonable solution but in the midst of the negotiations we were served with a lawsuit for nearly 2 million dollars, threatening to take all we have worked for, for alleged breach of contract and holding up the sale of the other properties on either side of us because we wouldn’t give up our driveway and our right to do what we wanted with the property we owned!!!
This started an over 2 year legal battle, one that we never wanted to be in. It took every ounce of our time, finances and strength to defend ourselves. Hundreds of thousands of dollars later, more sleepless nights than I can count, endless tears and a gut wrenching 7 day trial where our character and business were called into question and mocked. In the end, thanks to the hard work of our amazing legal team, we came out not only not guilty of their claims but the jury of our peers found the developer and his real estate agent guilty of every one of our counter claims including fraud and violation of the consumer protection act for their blatant disregard for their duty to disclose information. You see they had negotiated away our driveway with the department of transportation in order to get access to the other pieces but NEVER shared that with us… then tried to threaten and bully us into signing an agreement that would have made our dreams impossible!
We knew we were in the right, we knew we had done nothing wrong but there is always a risk in any trial. And even through we had a unanimous decision from our incredible jury in April there was always the risk of appeal and a possibility that we would have to retry the case. The stress and expense of this nightmare nearly broke us in every way!
So many of you asked where I was, what was going on and I couldn’t share much for fear it would affect the case. The stress and worry , physically and financially behind the scenes was all consuming. I still showed up where I could for our community but I know you felt a shift and I’m so sorry for that. The excitement of a big change in our business should have been a positive one and instead outside forces and deceit from others stole that joy, but thankfully only temporarily!
After much continued worry and back and forth we have reached a settlement and what once was a 24 acre homestead with a silo and a bunch of old buildings that we as a family carefully tore down board by board to preserve the history and fulfill my dream is NOW a 128 acres legacy property!! As part of the deal the sellers had to deed us the 104 acres next to our property and give us the new access off the highway. It’s all FINALLY OVER!
I don’t know what this property will look like moving forward. But after years of being in limbo because of the lawsuit we can for the first time build, sell, develop… we can move forward.
A part of me wants a clean slate and fresh start with a new site that’s already built so I don’t have to wait any longer to see my dream realized after already waiting so long!
But either way we are finally FREE from the stress and worry and have the freedom to move forward. So thank you for being here, thanks for hanging with me when I’m sure it felt like I had disappeared. I was nearly crushed by this nightmare, but made it through and will be stronger for it.
For 10 years I have with blood, sweat and tears built this business and today it feels like I’m starting over!! So cheers to not giving up, cheers to being willing to pivot when faced with big challenges and cheers to standing up for what’s right and fighting with all you have to see it through!!
I’ve made it through, I’m back and it feels amazing!!!
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