Dolce & Gabbana USA Cleared In $25M DGFamily NFT Legal Battle
Dolce & Gabbana USA won a big legal battle when it was found not to be responsible in a class-action lawsuit against its $25 million DGFamily non-fungible token (NFT) initiative.
The lawsuit, which was filed in May 2024 and changed in September, said that the premium fashion brand and its Dubai-based partner, UNXD, didn’t deliver on the benefits they promised with the NFT collection.
A federal court in New York threw out the case against the U.S. subsidiary because there wasn’t enough evidence to hold it responsible for what its Italian parent firm, Dolce & Gabbana SRL, did.
The Story Behind the DGFamily NFT Project
The DGFamily NFT initiative started in April 2022 and was a partnership between Dolce & Gabbana, UNXD, and inBetweeners. It promised consumers unique digital and physical incentives, such as metaverse wearables, high-end fashion products, and access to VIP events. The initiative sold more than 5,000 NFTs, bringing in millions of dollars.
The prices ranged from 1.224 ETH to 40 ETH (around $3,600 to $120,000 at launch). However, the plaintiffs said that only two of the eight promised incentives were sent, many of them were broken, and customers had to pay extra shipping and customs fees that they didn’t expect. By the end of 2023, the initiative was said to have failed, which led to legal action.
The Lawsuit and the Claims
The class-action lawsuit, which was led by Luke Brown, who lost $5,800 on a DGFamily NFT, said that Dolce & Gabbana and UNXD utilised misleading advertising and didn’t deliver on promised benefits.
The complaint said that Dolce & Gabbana USA and its Italian parent company were one company because they had the same leadership, employees, and branding. It further said that the NFTs were offered as unregistered securities and that fake demand was created by manipulating secondary markets.
The Court’s Decision and Reasoning
In January 2025, Dolce & Gabbana USA asked to have the case thrown out, saying that it was a different legal business that had nothing to do with the marketing, selling, or development of the NFT project.
U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald agreed with the corporation and said that the case didn’t have enough proof to designate Dolce & Gabbana USA as a “alter ego” of its Italian parent. The judge said that the lawsuit’s use of the name “Dolce & Gabbana” for both parties did not make it clear what their positions were; therefore, it was “plainly insufficient” to stop the move to dismiss.
What Does This Mean and What To Do Next
The lawsuit’s future is uncertain because the other defendants, UNXD and Bluebear Italia SRL, were not served with the complaint. Judge Buchwald said that more changes to the complaint might not work, which might make the case weaker.
This decision shows how hard it is to hold international companies responsible in NFT-related conflicts, and it could create a precedent for further instances like this in the growing cryptocurrency industry. The $25 million DGFamily NFT lawsuit against Dolce & Gabbana USA is a big deal for both the luxury brand and the NFT business as a whole.
The U.S. branch is not responsible, but there are still issues about the responsibility of the Italian parent business and its partners. This example shows how hard it is for investors to get their money back when digital asset businesses don’t keep their promises. The world of crypto and NFTs is always changing.