LuLaRoe Sues Mom Blogger for Revealing Its Allegedly Shady Practices to Other Women

LuLaRoe

LuLaRoe is extremely popular among the mom crowd. Half fun-leggings manufacturer and half direct-sales business, the company has garnered all kinds of attention. More recently, it has come under fire for its allegedly shady business practices, and now it's suing a popular mom blogger who spoke out against the company.

Last week LuLaRoe broke the news that the company would be changing its return policy for consultants. The policy changes -- which went into effect immediately -- state that the company will only refund returned goods from consultants at 90 percent of their value. Additionally, LuLaRoe will only accept products for returns if they were bought directly from LuLaRoe, effectively leaving out large portions of its sellers who purchase new products from other consultants.

Understandably, the drastic changes sent many of the company's loyal consultants into a frenzy, as many of them stand to lose large amounts of money. Several consultants spoke out in the wake of these events, including Christina Hinks of popular blog MommyGyver, who says she's taken it upon herself to "expose" LuLaRoe.

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In March 2017, Hinks began sharing stories on her blog by anonymous guest writers chronicling their alleged bad experiences with LuLaRoe. The stories were heartbreaking, detailing women who claimed they had spent countless hours and crazy amounts of money chasing dreams they now say LuLaRoe wrongfully sold them.

In an open letter on her blog, Hinks also shared numerous "shady business practices" she claims were pushed by the company, including allegedly encouraging people to take out second mortgages to pay for products; there were also storties of consultants who claim they were threatened with being "fired" if they didn't sign troubling merchant agreements. The alleged realities of the company's practices were a far cry from the messages of positivity and acceptance that it put out into the world.

Soon after she began sharing these stories, Hinks says she was contacted by an attorney representing Mark and DeAnne Stidham, the LuLaRoe founders. Most recently, on September 22, Hinks revealed that she is officially being sued by LuLaRoe, with its ultimate goal being to force her to reveal the identities of the anonymous consultants from whom she gathered her information about the company.

In a 100-page court document obtained by Scary Mommy, LuLaRoe is demanding that Hinks give up "the identity and contact information of potential LLR defendants who have damaged LuLaRoe." It also claims that her blog posts do not fall under the veil of journalistic protection. In addition, the company has brought up charges of computer use violations, fraud, and breach of contract.

The lawsuit is a big deal not just for Hinks and her sources, but for any woman involved with LuLaRoe. With the recent changes, many sellers are unhappy and stand to possibly lose money. Now, on top of those concerns, they must also fear the possible consequences of speaking against the brand, even anonymously.

While going up against such a large company is certainly terrifying, Hinks has no intention of backing off or letting down the people who shared their stories, and there are plenty of people who stand by her. The group LuLaLivid, which is not affiliated with Hinks, is even organizing a protest during LuLaRoe's next leadership conference in Dallas.

"For the people who have shared their stories, it's my duty to protect them," Hinks told Scary Mommy. "I have been a voice for them for months and months because they've been afraid to speak out.”