Luke Combs "feels sick to my stomach" after he sues fan for $250,000
14 December 2023, 10:51
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Luke Combs makes it good after his people sue a fan for a ridiculous amount of money.
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Luke Combs has apologised after he found out that he had sued a fan of his for $250,000.
Nicol Harness, of Pinellas County, Florida, was hit by the lawsuit after selling 18 tumblers featuring Combs's face without permission, netting a total of $380.
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She was found liable for federal trademark infringement and counterfeiting and hit with the massive statutory damages figure.
"It's very stressful," Harness told NBC affiliate WFLA.
"I don't have money to pay my bills. I just want this resolved. I didn't mean any harm to Luke Combs. I quit selling the tumbler. I pulled it down. I just don't understand."
Beyond the damages she couldn't afford, Nicola had $5,500 in her Amazon account frozen by the court, with the money supposedly now earmarked to pay the quarter-of-a-million dollar bill.
It turns out that Luke Combs didn't know anything about any of this, and since he's found out he's done all he can to resolve the situation.
The country superstar posted a video on Instagram explaining what had happened and how he was trying to fix it.
"I woke up at 5 a.m. to use the restroom and the first thing I saw is this: a woman that’s being sued by me for $250,000," Luke said.
"I spent the last two hours trying to make this right, trying to figure out what’s going on because I was completely and utterly unaware of this.
"So, we do have a company that goes after folks, only supposedly large corporations operating internationally, that make millions and millions of dollars making counterfeit t-shirts, things of that nature, running illegal businesses. And apparently this woman, Nicol, has somehow got wrapped up in that."
He added: "She told me she was absolutely shocked by this. I'm so apologetic. Talking to her, it makes me sick honestly that this would happen, especially at the holidays
"She was never supposed to be involved in anything like this. No fan should be involved in anything like this... I invited Nicol and her family out to a show this year so I can give her a hug and say sorry in person."
As well as giving Nicola $11,000 – double the amount frozen in her Amazon account – Luke has put a tumbler up for sale on his own website, stating "Net proceeds from this product will be donated to Nicol Harness and her family" to help pay for medical bills.
