Dolce & Gabbana Hit With Lawsuit Over Alleged 97% Loss on Metaverse Outfit NFTs

cryptonews.com:

A customer sued Dolce & Gabbana USA on Thursday, claiming the NFTs they purchased lost 97% in value due to the company’s bungled delivery.

Bloomberg reported Friday that the Italian fashion house sold the NFTs on Ethereum, promising “a slate of digital, physical and experiential benefits.” It reportedly told consumers that buying its DGFamily NFTs would unlock access to various digital rewards, physical products, and exclusive events.

The lawsuit further alleges that Dolce & Gabbana failed to deliver the NFTs and promised benefits on time. The digital outfits, which arrived 20 days late, “could be used only in a metaverse platform with barely any users.”

Even after the delayed arrival, token holders were allegedly left waiting another 11 days before they could use them. According to the complaint, Dolce & Gabbana hadn’t secured approval from the metaverse platform beforehand.

“Their standard operating procedure has been to promise products they fail to deliver, before abandoning a project and community they promised to support,” the complaint said.

Luke Brown, the plaintiff, claims he lost $5,800 on the NFTs he purchased. Brown said he is suing on behalf of others who bought digital assets from this NFT project. His lawsuit also targets NFT marketplace UNXD, making it a party to the legal action.

The NFT market has shown signs of growth so far in 2024. Estimates suggest a 41% increase in marketplace value compared to 2023. However, this is a significant slowdown compared to previous years’ explosive growth.

Some high-profile sales like CryptoPunk 3100 did fetch $16m in March. But the overall trend points towards a decline in value for many NFTs.