Jay-Z's 50th Birthday Party At Center Of $180,000 Legal Battle
By Ryan Naumann on February 11, 2020 at 5:54 AM EST
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Jay-Z’s birthday celebration is at the center of a nasty battle over a special edition Cognac.
According to court documents obtained by The Blast, a company named Benard Creative has filed suit against D’Usse Spirits aka Bacardi U.S.A., Inc.
Benard is a marketing firm who “specializes in developing brand and design strategies for luxury brands.”
They say Bacardi, who distributes alcoholic beverages, hired their company to provide marketing services for its cognac product to promote the 50th birthday of music mogul Jay-Z, which went down in December 2019.
Benard was to create a design and advertising campaign for a limited bottle of the D’USSE XXXO Cognac, along with a high-end bottle design.
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The marketing company designed a deluxe glass decanter, advertisements and marketing materials for the special edition Cognac.
They claim to have coordinated with multiple crystal and jewelry companies to produce the decanter, which took some time to lock down and included many last many changes to the bottle.
Benard says it helped place advertisements in the New York Times, L.A. Times and Miami Herald on a “rush” basis in connection with Jay-Z’s 50th birthday celebration. The company sent off invoices for their work to Bacardi based on their agreement.
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However, the company claims despite numerous demands for payment they have not been paid. They say, “The implied agreement between D’usse Spirits and Bacardi with Benard resulted from all the facts and circumstances regarding Jay-Z’s 50th birthday celebration promotion.”
The suit reads, “As a result of the defendant’s breach of contract and its failure to comply with the payment terms of plaintiff’s invoices, Benard is entitled to receipt of the sum of $186,197.19 together with interest from December 2, 2019.”
The company is suing for the unpaid invoices plus unspecified damages. Jay-Z is not a party to the lawsuit nor is he involved in the matter.