Update: Luke Combs has officially responded about the lawsuit, taking to Instagram to try to set matters straight. According to Combs, the lawsuit caught him by surprise as he was unaware of it. While Combs said he does have a legal team, they usually go after major merchandising schemes, not individual fans.
Videos by American Songwriter
“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,” he said. “Apparently, this woman Nicol has somehow gotten wrapped into that, and that makes me absolutely sick to my stomach.” He added, “It makes me sick honestly that would happen, especially at the holidays. I can’t imagine being in her shoes.”
Combs went about making things right. In addition to giving her $11,000 for any lost money, Combs is also creating his own tumbler to raise money for the woman and has extended concert tickets to her family as well.
The original story is as follows:
One Florida woman is being ordered to pay a hefty sum after selling tumblers with a picture of Luke Combs on it. A judge has ordered her to pay $250,000 in damages to the country singer.
Speaking with News Channel 8, Nicol Harness, a Florida resident, said she began selling her homemade tumblers with Combs’ image earlier this summer. She got the idea after attending a Combs concert in Tampa.
Harness runs a tumbler and T-shirt store through Amazon, using the funds as a means of income. According to the entrepreneur, she sold $380 worth of tumblers, amounting to 18 for $20 each. Harness was shocked to learn that an Illinois judge ordered her to pay $250,000 in damages.
“It’s very stressful. I don’t have money to pay my bills,” Harness said. She said she took the store down. “I just want this resolved — I didn’t mean any harm to Luke Combs.”
She added, “I quit selling the tumbler. I pulled it down.”
Harness has congestive heart failure, and she was in the hospital at the time. She didn’t realize that she was on the hook for the money until after she came home. She noticed that Amazon had frozen her store.
[Tickets for Luke Combs are Here via StubHub]
Florida Woman Shocked by Luke Combs Lawsuit
After searching through her email, she came across a notice about the lawsuit in her junk folder. It was a message from Comb’s attorney that gave her only 21 days to respond. Harness said she didn’t see the email in time, and as a result, a judge had already decided her case since she didn’t show up.
Attorney Matt Weidner, not involved in either side of the case, admitted that he didn’t agree with using email to convey important court documents.
“Frankly, to find out that in Illinois they are now allowing email service, this may be the test case for why that shouldn’t happen,” Weidner said. “I certainly encourage her to communicate with the court and tell her side of the story.”
Harness wants to issue an apology but appears distressed by the lawsuit.
“I would tell him I’m sorry, like I said I didn’t mean any harm. I’m a supporter of Luke Combs. I respect him. This is not something I meant to go wrong like this. I just want to get back to my day to day life,” she said.
[Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images]
