Ervin Santana being sued over $40,000 in necklaces http://t.co/pmXkwL6jrg via @cbssports pic.twitter.com/fF3XwhrkxF
— CBS Sports MLB (@CBSSportsMLB) April 1, 2015
Twins pitcher Ervin Santana is being sued by a Miami jeweler, who is claiming Santana defaulted on $40,000 worth of customized necklaces.
According to the Pioneer Press, Major League Jewelers Inc. claims Santana defamed the company by claiming the necklaces were “fake.” The jeweler is seeking payment, plus a $14,000 collection fee and interest.
Santana’s attorney, Darren Heitner, counters that Major League Jewelers failed to provide the items his client ordered.
“Our position is that we did not receive what we bargained for,” Heitner told the Pioneer Press, Wednesday. “My client asked for specific jewelry and he did not receive what he bargained for.”
According to the lawsuit, Santana paid $2,150 in September for $42,150 in jewelry, but he refused to pay the rest of the balance and in October he declared in writing that the jewelry was fake.
According to CBS Sports, the company is famous for supplying jewelry to the wealthy. On the company’s website there are pictures of celebrities like Paris Hilton and Major League stars including Carlos Gonzalez, Pablo Sandoval and Carlos Santana amongst others.
“Ervin Santana’s communication alleging that the jewelry sold to him was fake jewelry is false, defamatory, (and) is intended to malign Major League Jewelers reputation,” the lawsuit claims.
Santana signed a four-year, $55 million contract with the Twins during the offseason. He is scheduled to make his first start for Minnesota on April 8 in Detroit.
He is not required to be present for an April 16 hearing on the lawsuit.
