The famously "preppy" brand first sued the 52-year-old for trademark infringement in 2014, claiming she used their signature whale design on a number of Macbeth products. "They’re my competition, and they accused me of stealing their logo, which I did not do," Margaret previously stated on RHONJ.
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According to legal documents, the TV personality was ordered to pay $300,000 in 2015 to Vineyard Vines, but only managed to cough up $190,000. In December 2018, a Connecticut district court demanded that Margaret pay the remaining $110,000 she owed, as well as an additional $500,000 for violating the initial settlement agreement.
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"I’m coming off a rough couple of years," the mother of one confessed. "The truth is every month that goes by, I’ve been, you know, getting more in a hole."
Margaret added that the entire ordeal left her drained. "It’s been going on for so long. It’s very hard for a smaller, woman-owned company to defend itself against a much larger company," she said. "Even then they’re in the right."
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