Dolce & Gabbana USA Escapes NFT Lawsuit—Italian Parent Still Under Fire
The US District Court for the Southern District of New York on July 11, 2025, dismissed Dolce & Gabbana USA Inc. from a class-action lawsuit (Brown v. Dolce & Gabbana USA Inc., et al., 1:24-cv-03807) relating to the DGFamily non-fungible token project.
Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald ruled that the United States subsidiary was not an “alter ego†of its Italian parent, Dolce & Gabbana SRL, and was not directly involved in the NFT project.
The decision reduces a high-stakes case investigating the connection between luxury fashion and blockchain technology, providing relief to the brand’s United States operations.
The lawsuit, filed in May 2024, targets the DGFamily NFT project launched in April 2022, which promised investors digital wearables for platforms like Decentraland, physical apparel, and access to exclusive events, allocated quarterly over two years.
Plaintiffs, led by Luke Brown, allege these commitments were not met, calling the project a “rug pull.†The court documents reveal one investor lost $5,800 of a $6,000 investment, a 97% loss, showing the financial losses at stake.
Dolce & Gabbana Italian Parent and Partners Face Ongoing NFT Fraud Claims
The case continues against Dolce & Gabbana SRL, UNXD Inc. (a Dubai-based NFT marketplace), Bluebear Italia SRL, and individuals including co-founder Domenico Dolce, Global Innovation Manager Christian Barbujani, and Head of New Media Davide Sgherri.
An amended complaint filed on Sept. 25, 2024, made allegations, accusing a “premeditated scheme” of defrauding investors through market manipulation and violating the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Commodity Exchange Act.
The plaintiffs are asking for punitive damages and rescission relief for the alleged financial losses due to the failed NFT project.
Court filings also allege the defendants collected over $25 million from NFT sales, though no detailed breakdown of this figure has been provided. The promised benefits, expected by June 2022, were delayed or limited, with digital assets confined to Decentraland’s low-traffic platform.
Subsequent efforts, including a December 2022 collaboration with the inBetweeners NFT collection and a January 2023 UNXD virtual town hall, failed to restore investor trust.
NFT Lawsuits Expose Gaps in Digital Asset Rules
The dismissal of Dolce & Gabbana’s United States subsidiary is a testament to the difficulty of holding multinational subsidiaries accountable for parent company actions, a recurring issue in NFT-related litigation.
The case is in line with a trend of lawsuits targeting NFT projects, including actions against Impact Theory and Hermès, showing growing regulatory attention on digital assets.
While some stakeholders and analysts speculate that active cases will push regulators to clarify NFT guidelines—perhaps repeating actions like the SEC’s $1 million fine against Stoner Cats 2 LLC—such outcomes are speculative pending further legal action.
As of July 14, 2025, no new developments have emerged, leaving the lawsuit against the remaining defendants ongoing. The case could affect Dolce & Gabbana’s reputation and the luxury industry’s engagement with blockchain.
