Beverly Hills Matchmakers Granted Arbitration Of Plaintiff's Fraud, Other Claims

LOS ANGELES, CA — A woman who sued for fraud a Beverly Hills matchmaking service founded by two sisters who have made media appearances touting their way of helping single people find romance will have to take her case before an arbitrator rather than a jury, a judge has ruled.

The plaintiff is Gena Wang and she alleges in her Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that she was falsely guaranteed marriage if she paid the $20,000 fee. The proposed class-action lawsuit names as defendants Matchmakers in the City and its two sibling creators, Alessandra Conti and Cristina Conti Pineda. In addition to fraud, the suit alleges violations of the dating service contracts act and the state Business and Professions Code and breach of contract.

On Monday, Judge William F. Highberger granted a defense motion to compel arbitration of the plaintiff's claims. In a sworn declaration, Conti said Wang's September 2024 platinum membership agreement to be a bachelorette with Matchmakers calls for her to arbitrate any disputes.

Highberger heard arguments on the arbitration motion and took the case under submission. The judge noted that Wang contended that she was not advised that there was an arbitration provision, that nothing during the sign- up process called her attention to the fact the terms and conditions contained an arbitration agreement and that she would not have agreed to arbitration had she known about it.

Highberger also wrote that Wang conceded she did not fully read the terms and conditions and thought they dealt with privacy and webite conduct. The judge said he was not convinced by Wang's position.

"Plaintiffs testimony is insufficient to defeat formation," the judge wrote. "Nothing in the language surrounding the textbox suggested the terms did not include an arbitration provision, or that they solely concerned privacy and use of the website."

Highberger put the case on hold pending the outcome of the arbitration and scheduled a case review for Jan. 14, 2027.

In her suit filed Dec. 17, Wang sought unspecified compensatory damages as well as injunctive relief stopping both any further alleged advertising or promising guaranteed marriage/matches as well as any enforcement of no-refund provisions. An MITC representative previously issued a statement regarding the lawsuit in which Wang was initially identified only as Jane Doe until she recently decided not to continue using the pseudonym.

"For over 13 years, our family-run matchmaking company has been rooted in old-school values, genuine care and a deep mission for helping people find meaningful connections," the statement read. "The allegations in this lawsuit are false, unfounded and not supported by any evidence."

MITC written contracts transparently define the services provided and the service never guaranteed marriage or specific relationship outcomes, the statement further read.

"We respect the legal process and are confident that the facts will clearly support our good-faith conduct," according to the statement.

Alessandra Conti appears in Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" and she and her sister have her sister have been featured in Forbes, CBS, The New York Times, the CW Network, Fox News and more, according to the MITC website.

According to Wang's suit, she met with the Conti sisters over Zoom before signing her contract and explained her criteria for a partner, including cultural, religious and racial preferences tied to the memory of her late husband.

The Contis assured Wang that they had a vast network and database of highly qualified and suitable candidates, that they could guarantee a marriage match if Wang signed up and that their relationship coaches were equivalent to licensed psychologists or therapists, the suit alleges.

"These assurances were false, but plaintiff relied on them in deciding to sign the contract and pay $20,000 upfront," the suit states. The September 2024 agreement included a no-refund clause and as well as a "small- claims only" clause capping relief at $10,000, according to the complaint.

However, MITC failed to deliver the alleged promised guaranteed dates or marriage match, leaving Wang "financially devastated and emotionally traumatized," the suit further states.

"At the time, defendants knew they had no such database, no ability to guarantee 10 qualifying dates, no way to guarantee marriage and no coaches equivalent to licensed therapists," the suit states.