Photo courtesy of MeridithBaer.com
By CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA | Reporter
Esteemed home stager and interior designer Meridith Baer has entered a courthouse, this time for a legal dispute with her nephew and niece, Brett Baer and Jaime Morse, according to a report by the Hollywood Reporter.
Baer, a luxury home stager, has worked with celebrities, including Scarlett Johansson, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts.
After getting fired by their aunt, Brett and Jaime, together with her husband, set out to start their own practice, Vesta Home, who also landed big name clients like Kanye West and Palisadian Ben Affleck.
When the new company emerged as a rival of Meridith Baer Home, the report said, Baer sued her family members, claiming they stole staging property and trade secrets while stealing away clients for Vesta, and is now seeking more than $11 million in damages.
“This is about a fraudulent scheme to steal company assets for personal gain,” said Meridith’s attorney, Philip Boesch, in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter.
“There is no family backstory. Meridith treated Brett and Jaime as though they were her son and daughter, which makes their theft and fraud all the more shocking and sad.”
The three Vesta founders deny the claims and have filed a countersuit for multiple incurred grievances, as attorneys expect the case to go to trial in the fall.
