Photo: DiMITRIOS KAMBOURIS/GETTY IMAGES
John Galliano, who was fired as creative director at Christian Dior and artistic director at his eponymous label in early 2011 after making anti-semetic rants at a cafe in Paris, sued his former employers for an unspecified sum in damages. Dior which has a 91 percent interest in Galliano (the label) are both defendants in this case. Yesterday, Galliano appeared at the conseil de prud'hommes, a court that handles labor disputes, which ruled that the court was in fact qualified to hear the case.
Jean Néret, lawyer for Dior and Galliano (the label) argued that the case should be heard by a commercial court due to the complex nature of the contracts with the two fashion houses. Furthermore, Néret stated the labor court was not qualified to hear the case because Galliano was more an independent contractor than an employee. Nonetheless, the court did not agree and Dior now has 15 days to appeal the decision, and if it does, the case will be transferred to the Paris court of appeal within nine months.
Galliano's lawyer, Chantal Giraud-van Gaver told WWD:
"I am satisfied because Dior's request has been rejected, and our arguments have been upheld." She added: "This jurisdiction is very, very cluttered, and therefore the delays are very, very long. The proof is that we just lost time because instead of hearing our full arguments, the court has to explore the question of its competence. For the time being, we are winning."
In the meantime, Galliano has not let this lawsuit slow him down and is keeping himself busy working at Oscar de la Renta's design studio in New York.
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WWD (subcription req'd): John Galliano Wins Round in Dior Case
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