Hogan Lovells sweeps jury verdict for It's a 10® Haircare and its founder in seven year hair care industry dispute

Press releases | 18 January 2022

Miami, 18 January 2022 – Global law firm Hogan Lovells obtained a major victory on behalf of the It’s a 10 Haircare brand of award-winning hair care products, along with It’s a 10’s founder Carolyn Aronson, in a long-running dispute over the company and its intellectual property.

In early 2015, Aronson was engaged in a dispute over the potential sale of It's A 10. She then learned that her then-business partners were orchestrating a scheme in which they planned to use one of the company’s affiliates to misappropriate It's A 10's proprietary product formulas. In response, she dissolved the affiliate which led to a protracted dispute involving a slew of lawsuits, three full trials, and three separate appeals.

At long last, a Miami-based Hogan Lovells team secured victory for It’s a 10 and Aronson following a three-week jury trial in Fort Lauderdale’s Broward County Circuit Court. After nine hours of deliberation that took place over two days, the jury on Dec. 17 awarded Aronson everything she asked for—nearly $1 million in damages for fraudulent inducement and unjust enrichment. In addition, the jury rejected all counterclaims brought by the opposing parties, who sought more than $60 million for, among other things, the alleged lost enterprise value of the dissolved affiliate.

"I am so gratified to have won this arduous battle, thanks to an excellent legal team paired with my tenacity to see it through," said Aronson. She continued, "As a female, and more specifically a Latina-owned beauty brand, I always want to lead by example and inspire other aspiring female entrepreneurs to be courageous and steadfast in what they know is right."

“We are extremely pleased that after such a lengthy lead up to this trial the jury thoughtfully considered the case and recognized Mrs. Aronson had the right to protect her business, and importantly the product formulations which brought her so much success,” said Hogan Lovells Partner Allen Pegg.

The Hogan Lovells team was led by Pegg and included attorney Robert Leitner; associates Paige Comparato, Evan Robinson, Adrian Sanchez-Roig, and Clayton Schmitt (all Miami); associate Jim Conlin (Northern Virginia); and senior paralegal Beth Moon (Miami).

Aronson was also represented by Miami lawyers Robert Miller and Celeste Higgins.

Read more about the case and It’s a 10 Haircare here.