Ivanka Trump must be deposed in shoe design litigation
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Ivanka Trump must appear at a deposition in copyright litigation over her company’s shoes despite her “obvious time constraints,” says a New York judge.
Florence, Italy-based Aquazzura Italia SRL filed suit against Ms. Trump, among others, for allegedly copying its Wild Thing shoe, according to litigation first filed in U.S. District Court in New York in June 2016, Aquazzura Italia SRL v. Ivanka Trump et al.
The order issued Friday by Judge Katherine B. Forrest says, “The court has considered whether, given the obvious time constraints that Ms. Trump must currently have (and of which this Court can take judicial notice based upon her position in the Trump Administration), it is nonetheless true that she is alleged to have personal involvement in the events at issue in this lawsuit. Accordingly, she cannot avoid a deposition in this matter.”
The order says also while Ms. Trump has declared a “lack of personal knowledge of the design at issue, plaintiff asserts otherwise. That is the stuff of which factual disputes in litigation are made.
“We are therefore left with a situation in which Ms. Trump’s public statements regarding active and comprehensive brand management lead to a reasonable inference that the shoe at issue would not have been released without her approval. In such a situation, a deposition is appropriate.”
The judge, did go on to say, however, that “given Ms. Trump’s competing professional obligations,” the deposition must be limited to two hours, occur in Washington, “if that is more convenient for Ms. Trump” and occur on a “mutually acceptable schedule.”
The deposition must take place by the end of October 2017.
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