Hayley Peterson

A judge on Friday denied a LuLaRoe supplier's request to immediately seize nearly $34 million in assets from the multi-level marketing company.

The supplier, Providence Industries, filed suit against <a id="f5268562-23b4-30ee-ab88-6612dd3f9582" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lularoe-lawsuit-supplier-sues-for-49-million-2018-12?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> LuLaRoe on November 29 for nearly $49 million </a> , alleging that the company has failed to pay its bills for seven months.

Several days later, Providence filed a request for the immediate seizure of assets, alleging that LuLaRoe CEO Mark Stidham is a <a id="2a5f8afd-5ed4-38c5-a392-5a5fa56826a2" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lularoe-lawsuit-supplier-demands-assets-after-ceos-alleged-threats-2018-12?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> flight risk </a> because of his access to a private jet and his alleged threats to "jump ship" with the company's riches.

In response, Stidham said in a sworn statement that he had <a id="9dffffdf-ae16-3704-a7f9-74118580f586" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lularoe-lawsuit-ceo-says-he-has-no-plans-tojump-ship-2018-12?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> no plans to abscond </a> with the company's money.

"To be clear, I do not have, and have never had, any intention or plans of absconding abroad with money," he said.

Read more: <a id="b13cb6e7-80b7-34c0-ad7f-61b9402231dc" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lularoe-legging-empire-mounting-debt-top-sellers-flee-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> LuLaRoe is facing mounting debt, layoffs, and an exodus of top sellers, and sources say the $2.3 billion legging empire could be imploding </a>

California state Judge John Stroud denied the request for immediate asset seizure on Friday. The next hearing in the case is set for January 28.

"Judge John Stroud, who is temporarily presiding over the case, declined to grant this relief on an emergency basis but invited Providence Industries to return to court in a few weeks to seek non-emergency relief," Providence Industries said in a statement. "Providence Industries is confident that once the court fully considers the evidence that it will prevail and will continue to vigorously seek repayment of its debt."

Read more: <a id="20107bcb-74d8-3347-a4f3-5e28e7b0bb4e" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lularoe-lawsuit-supplier-sues-for-49-million-2018-12?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> LuLaRoe supplier sues for $49 million and accuses the company's founders of hiding assets in 'shell' companies </a>

LuLaRoe sent an email to consultants on Friday shortly after the hearing with the subject line "Legal Update."

"For those of you following some of the chatter, Providence Industries, LLC, a former LuLaRoe vendor, brought ex parte applications seeking a receiver or writ of attachment against LuLaRoe," the company said, according to a copy of the email reviewed by Business Insider. "This morning, the court denied the ex parte applications. The court also encouraged LuLaRoe and this vendor to attempt to amicably resolve what is a very complex and heavily disputed matter."

If you have information to share about LuLaRoe, email hpeterson@businessinsider.com.

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SEE ALSO: LuLaRoe supplier sues for $49 million and accuses the company's founders of hiding assets in 'shell' companies

Judge denies LuLaRoe supplier's request to immediately seize $34 million of the company's assets

LuLaRoe CEO Mark Stidham has fired back at a <a id="88ff7592-3cd2-33d0-ae60-933c86ffa20c" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lularoe-lawsuit-supplier-sues-for-49-million-2018-12?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> supplier’s $49 million lawsuit </a> against the multi-level marketing company, saying some of the suit’s supporting testimonies are "patently false" and "nonsense."

The supplier, Providence Industries, said in the suit that LuLaRoe has failed to pay its bills for seven months, and accused the company's founders, Mark and DeAnne Stidham, of hiding assets in "shell" companies to fund their "lavish lifestyle."

During a hearing in California state court on Wednesday, Providence Industries demanded the immediate seizure of nearly $34 million in assets from LuLaRoe, claiming that Mark Stidham is a <a id="2a5f8afd-5ed4-38c5-a392-5a5fa56826a2" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lularoe-lawsuit-supplier-demands-assets-after-ceos-alleged-threats-2018-12?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> flight risk </a> because of his alleged threats to "jump ship" with the company’s riches.

Read more: <a id="dee46d96-6f9d-3181-a001-81b460614b6c" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lularoe-lawsuit-supplier-demands-assets-after-ceos-alleged-threats-2018-12?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> LuLaRoe supplier demands immediate seizure of $34 million worth of assets after the CEO's alleged threats to 'jump ship' with its riches </a>

Executives from Providence Industries and LuLaRoe’s former chief designer, Patrick Winget, filed sworn statements in support of some of the lawsuit's claims.

In response, Stidham said he has no plans to flee with the company’s money, according to a copy of Stidham's testimony that was filed in court on Wednesday.

"To be clear, I do not have, and have never had, any intention or plans of absconding abroad with money," he said. "To the contrary, I remain committed to the LuLaRoe business and continue to work daily on the business."

Stidham went on to identify four LuLaRoe properties, including three warehouses and a commercial office space, and said the company is current on its rents for all of those properties.

"The suggestion that I would abscond with hundreds of millions of dollars from LuLaRoe and escape to the Bahamas — or anywhere else for that matter — is absurd," he said, and "testimony to that effect is reckless, misleading, and insulting."

Read more: LuLaRoe is facing mounting debt, layoffs, and an exodus of top sellers, and sources say the $2.3 billion legging empire could be imploding

In relation to the lawsuit's claim that Stidham had created 17 "shell" companies between July and December 2017 to hide assets, he said, "this is nonsense."

Stidham said the companies "consist of real estate and investment holding companies, some of which were created for real estate-planning purposes."

"There is no nefarious or improper purpose as to why these entities were formed.”

Stidham also addressed a sworn statement by Winget, who was LuLaRoe's chief designer from 2013 until September 2018.

Winget had claimed that Stidham made several alleged threats to flee with the company’s money.

Stidham denied making such statements to Winget and referred to him as a "disgruntled former LuLaRoe employee whom I terminated earlier this year."

LuLaRoe representatives <a id="d9a813e8-002e-34a8-ae2d-daead5036ad4" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lularoes-patrick-winget-exits-company-amid-refund-complaints-2018-10?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> told Business Insider </a> in October in an e-mailed statement that Winget had "decided to step down from his role, and pursue other opportunities."

"Patrick has added strong expertise in production and design at LuLaRoe," the statement said. "While we will miss his passion for fashion, we are excited for him and will continue to cheer him on."

Another hearing on the case is scheduled for Friday morning.

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'This is nonsense': LuLaRoe CEO fires back at $49 million supplier lawsuit, saying he has no plans to 'jump ship'

The company behind Walmart's pickup towers has developed a self-driving car that could upend the last-mile delivery industry.

The car, called Lotte, is a robotic courier. It autonomously transports packages to homes and businesses and uses a robotic arm to place the packages in a pickup locker. Eventually, it will be able to deliver packages to mailboxes and pickup towers as well.

The Lotte, designed by Estonia-based technology firm Cleveron, is among the only self-driving delivery vehicles that can complete deliveries without any human intervention.

"Since the robot courier will replace human labor, which makes the last mile delivery cheaper," said Cleveron CEO Arno Kutt. "This in turn helps e-commerce grow even more — it will be less expensive (we eliminate labor costs) and extremely convenient (the parcels are waiting for you safely in your own parcel locker)."

A <a id="df812a95-890c-3685-a081-daf134cfe34c" href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/travel-transport-and-logistics/our-insights/how-customer-demands-are-reshaping-last-mile-delivery"> 2016 McKinsey study </a> estimated that autonomous vehicles, including drones, would account for about 80% of all consumer parcel deliveries during the next 10 years.

And according to a <a id="7a244ed1-6c3c-3182-a596-ae67f0f75239" href="https://advisory.kpmg.us/content/dam/advisory/en/pdfs/2018/autonomy-delivers-final-secured-web.pdf?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosautonomousvehicles&amp;stream=autonomous-vehicles"> new study from the consulting firm KPMG </a> , approximately one million autonomous delivery robots could be on the streets by 2040.

Autonomous delivery could be a boon for retailers, which have seen shipping costs balloon in recent years. <a id="a97bf358-b7bc-3819-a60c-a2bc4395b293" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/amazon?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Amazon </a> , for example, saw its shipping costs double between 2015 and 2017 to $21.7 billion.

<a id="e19f0f58-e9f7-3f2c-ad01-27aaa93eaf1b" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/ford?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Ford </a> and <a id="54eeba44-8f9f-31d1-ac81-6cc095a9d658" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/walmart?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Walmart </a> <a id="314a52d3-8c16-38cd-adc2-296a90391ff0" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ford-walmart-partner-deliver-goods-self-driving-cars-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> recently partnered </a> to begin testing the delivery of goods using autonomous vehicles in Florida.

Kroger has also been testing the <a id="93f6173d-27b5-3248-a845-a6df7470af2d" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/business/kroger-driverless-cars-groceries.html"> delivery of groceries in driverless cars. </a>

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SEE ALSO: Amazon is launching a new delivery program and hiring thousands of drivers, with a warning against 'peeing in bottles'

This futuristic car could solve a multibillion-dollar problem facing Amazon, Walmart, and Target

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Hayley Peterson

Articles written by the author

Judge denies LuLaRoe supplier's request to immediately seize $34 million of the company's assets

'This is nonsense': LuLaRoe CEO fires back at $49 million supplier lawsuit, saying he has no plans to 'jump ship'

This futuristic car could solve a multibillion-dollar problem facing Amazon, Walmart, and Target