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Marvin and Jaclynn Jarrett, the husband-and-wife duo who founded Nylon magazine in 1999, are reportedly suing after their investment partner, Donald Hellinger, sold a majority stake of the magazine to Joe Mohen, an online entrepreneur who launched election.com and SpiralFrog among others, earlier this month.
When WWD broke the news of the sale and subsequent merger with FashionIndie.com on May 2, the article noted that Marvin, who was acting as interim editor-in-chief, was unaware of the sale, as were his staffers. But it gets weirder: Page Six alleges that the Jarretts only learned of the sale through friends and media reports, and they were locked out of their own office.
Now in an effort to regain control of the title they founded nearly two decades ago, the Jarretts are suing Diversis Capital LLC and Backbone Capital Advisors LLC, who helped to finance the sale. In a letter sent to the investment firm, the Jarrett's attorney Mitchell C. Littman explains that "the company was obligated to attempt to agree with [the Jarretts] on the terms and conditions with respect to any sale."
Reps for the mag's new owners, however, avoided comment on the drama, telling Page Six, "We have no comment on any dispute that may exist among the shareholders of the seller…we are extremely enthusiastic about consummating the transaction and what the future holds."
· Battle Over Nylon Continues, Founders to Sue [Page Six]
· Rachel Roy Sues Parent Company for Selling Her Label [Racked]