Jewelry Designer Drops Lawsuit Against Jeweler

A jewelry designer with a celebrity clientele who filed a lawsuit in 2014 against a jeweler dropped the lawsuit in March.

Antoaneta Ivanova filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court against Alan Faye and his business, Alan Faye Jewelry, based in Newport Beach, and other partners. In March 2017, Ivanova agreed to dismiss all of her claims against Alan Faye, Alan Faye Jewelry, Salpi Bedoian and Avedis Bedoian.

The plaintiff will not receive any money or compensation from any of the defendants, according to her attorney.

The suit’s allegations included breach of a partnership agreement, breach of contract, wage violations and that Faye put his interests above those of Ivanova’s.

According to the complaint, Ivanova studied fine art in her native Bulgaria and in the United States before starting Etoile, her Los Angeles-based jewelry design company. Ivanova, a specialist in computer-aided design and manufacturing, had done work for Faye in the past when he approached her about forming a partnership a few years ago, according to her lawsuit.

Under their eventual agreement, Faye owned 60 percent of the partnership, 20 percent belonged to Ivanova and the rest was split between the Bedoians, the suit says.

Ivanova says that after she designed her first work jewelry pieces -- called “Guns and Roses” -- for the partnership in September 2011, Faye told her in an email that the partnership was off to “a brilliant start” and that he was “really excited.”

While Ivanova and the Bedoians waited to have the partnership terms formalized in writing, business continued to grow and the venture received positive feedback from Barneys New York, Maxfield Los Angeles and Alchemist in Miami, the suit says.

“As the number of lines expanded, the demand on Ivanova’s time also became greater,” according to her court papers. “In order to work on the venture, Ivanova had to delay her own projects with Etoile.”

By the summer of 2013, despite promises from Faye, Ivanova had not been paid for her work, the suit alleged, and her share of the partnership was reduced.

— City News Service