Bridal apparel manufacturer Lizette Creations Inc. is incurring the wrath of jilted bridal shop owners who say that the Long Beach-based company charged them for unwanted dresses and hasn’t responded to refund requests.

Saundra Toor, owner of Tour of Elegance in San Diego, said Lizette owes her $1,212 for bridesmaid dresses she returned to the manufacturer. The dresses came to her shop after Toor agreed to an arrangement in which Lizette would send her dresses to view. She said she was told the dresses could be sent back for a full reimbursement.

Toor added she had no reason to doubt Lizette because she hadn’t had problems with the company before late 2003.

Shortly after the arrangement was made, Toor said dresses of declining quality began arriving at her store and each time the company charged her debit card prior to their arrival. Toor didn’t want to sell the dresses and asked Lizette to reimburse her in phone calls, faxes and a letter to the company’s president, Henry Bermudez.

So far, Lizette hasn’t responded to Toor, she said.

Lizette’s Web site says the company sells its products to 144 stores in California and hundreds more nationwide. Several stores contacted said they no longer sold Lizette dresses.

Castle for Brides in Huntington Beach stopped carrying Lizette dresses after the store found they were difficult to alter, according to store manager Elizabeth George.

Classic Litho & Design Inc. and RFP LLC have recently gotten legal judgments against Lizette amounting to, respectively, $3,003 and $8,509, according to court documents.

Lizette officials could not be reached for comment. The company’s number went unanswered in several attempted telephone calls.

Unsportsmanlike Conduct


Sport Chalet Inc. has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit that accused the company of denying meal breaks and failing to pay for uniforms its second settlement for alleged labor law violations in four years.

The La Canada-based sports retailer will pay up to $2.3 million for various lost wages and penalties, as well as to upgrade lunchrooms, improve its labor software system and provide shirts to employees. The company will not admit liability under the settlement agreement, which was disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

The class action suit, filed last year in L.A. County Superior Court, was brought by former employees Kenneth Henderson, Devin Santos and Wilma Lorenzo, who each worked at least three years at Sport Chalet. The suit was on behalf of 2,500 hourly employees at 27 store locations, according to court filings.

In 2001, the company agreed to end a lawsuit brought by former area manager Kelly Silver, who alleged that the company failed to pay overtime wages to area managers. The company disclosed in its SEC filings that the case had been settled but it did not release details.

*Staff reporter Rachel Brown can be reached by phone at (323) 549-5225, ext. 224, or by e-mail at

[email protected]

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