LOS ANGELES (CN) - Interior designer Ralph Haenisch says his former business partner defamed him by telling a client, jailed "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis, that Haenisch sold Francis furniture for 10 times the price he bought it for.
Haenisch says Francis refused to pay his outstanding design bills after Martyn Bullard made the false claims. Haenisch sued Francis to try to recover the money, according to the complaint. That dispute is still ongoing.
Haenisch says he and former partner Bullard ran a successful design firm for 10 years, but have been locked in a feud since 2007. That's when Haenisch sued Bullard for fraud, claiming that Bullard overcharged the firm's clients. Bullard purportedly thought the settlement in that action was "shoved down his throat," according to Haenisch.
Haenisch is represented in Superior Court by Robert Waxman.
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