The final act is still playing out for once-iconic West Hollywood retailer Kitson, which announced in December that it would shutter its website and all 17 stores due to mounting debt and unpaid bills.

While the store’s founder, Fraser Ross, opened a new Robertson Boulevard boutique called Kitross in May, it’s clear he’s still got a score to settle over how things played out at his former company.

Saying he was misled and taken advantage of by his former chief executive and the lawyers he hired to advise him, Ross alleges their actions not only led to the company’s failure, but also to his being cheated out of millions of dollars.

Among his complaints against Century City law firm Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell and Partner Jeffrey Sultan is his allegation that the firm committed malpractice by jointly representing Ross; Kitson; and Chris Lee, Kitson’s former chief executive, in transactions where their interests were not aligned.

“There are several players in this whole theater that we feel colluded in some way or another in order to take advantage of Ross,” said Glenn Feldman, Ross’ attorney and founding partner of Quebec City’s Feldman Law Offices.

Ross filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court this month seeking a jury trial with an award of more than $120 million and punitive damages.

Ron Avenida, executive director at Jeffer Mangels, expressed disappointment that Ross decided to file the complaint.

“He and his counsel know that these claims have no basis in reality,” Avenida said in a statement. “We are confident that this matter will be resolved in our favor.”

Ross declined to comment on the suit.

Lee did not respond to requests for comment.

Stumbling blocks

Ross opened the first Kitson store in 2000 on Robertson Boulevard in West Hollywood.

The trendy shop became famous for having its signature baby-blue shopping bags carried around town by Hollywood A-listers. But Kitson later moved to a more apparel-intensive inventory that became harder to sell as the company continued with an ambitious plan to add stores.

Squabbles arose with property owners and vendors, culminating in a public spat last year over two Kitson stores at Los Angeles International Airport that were launched as a joint venture with Hudson Group. All Kitson stores have been closed in the wake of the December announcement.

The saga began when Ross hired Lee, a former senior vice president at Forever 21, in 2011 to replace him as chief executive to help push the company’s growth. Ross remained on the board.

The lawsuit outlines several tumultuous years after Lee’s hire as the company attempted to acquire working capital to finance the expansion plan. In court papers, Ross says Jeffer Mangels, Sultan, and Lee obtained a $15 million secured loan for Kitson that was not necessary and did so without consulting Ross. Ross also claims he loaned Kitson $2 million in January of last year after being told the company needed “a cash infusion to attract potential investors or buyers.”

In April of last year, Ross asked Lee to take him to the doctor for an appointment related to an ongoing “life threatening” medical condition. After the doctor’s visit, Lee allegedly took Ross to Jeffer Mangels’ office, where attorneys, representing both Lee and Ross, helped close a deal for Lee to acquire Ross’ stake in Kitson for $300. The deal also called for Ross to resign as an officer and director.

The filing also said Ross was brought back on as a consultant a month later in order for Kitson to complete an estimated $5 million loan that required Ross’ involvement and affiliation with the company.

That consulting agreement, Ross now says, contained “buried provisions” that waived his right to collect on his $2 million loan and assigned his intellectual property rights to Kitson.

“This case as far as I know is sort of the classic situation of where a lawyer is retained to represent both the individual like a founder of a company and the company,” said Randall Miller, founding partner of downtown’s Miller Law Associates, who represents attorneys and judges in ethics disputes and legal malpractice cases, and is not involved with the case. “It seems implausible that a firm like Jeffer Mangels would miss the idea that there might be potential for conflict but it looks to me like there’s a lot of nuisances.”