Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced a $304,994.51 default judgment against the former operators of a Seattle venue who booked events, including many weddings, knowing the space would be unavailable.
The Cranes’ business, EM Fine Art, had hosted events at a South Lake Union gallery.
In two mass emails in June 2014, the Cranes informed their customers they would not provide use of the venue for already scheduled events and would not be refunding down payments. The first email falsely claimed the gallery had been destroyed by an electrical fire.
Those emails were the last their customers heard from the Cranes. At least 59 consumers lost approximately $50,000 in deposits and other payments.
“I’m committed to bringing a measure of justice to the victims in this case, many of whom were left with one of the most important events in their lives in disarray. We will work toward fully collecting this judgment to hold the Cranes accountable for their obligations and provide restitution for consumers,” Ferguson said.
An Attorney General’s Office investigation revealed the Cranes knew their lease would be terminated but they continued to rent the space to unwitting consumers. The Cranes received multiple notices, starting in November 2013, from their landlord and from the Seattle Department of Planning and Development that they were violating local land use ordinances.
The Cranes knew by March 14, 2014, that they would be unable to host events in 2015, but continued scheduling events and accepting payments for 2015. Their landlord notified Roland Crane that the gallery’s lease would be terminated May 21, 2014, yet the Cranes continued entering into contracts and soliciting payments after receiving that notice for events beyond the termination date.
The Attorney General’s Office Consumer Protection Division filed a lawsuit against Roland and Amanda King in February of this year. After a lengthy process of locating and serving the couple in California, they failed to respond to the lawsuit by court deadlines.
King County Superior Court Commissioner Carlos Velategui signed the default judgment late yesterday. The judgment includes $50,000 in restitution, $18,994 in costs and fees and $236,000 in civil penalties for violation of the state Consumer Protection Act.
Since their violations of the Consumer Protection Act, the Cranes have left the state and were only reachable via email and a rented mailbox.
Although the Cranes claimed they had not received notice of the state’s lawsuit and that they no longer used the mailbox, the Attorney General’s Office investigation revealed they in fact checked their mail 27 times in the month following the mailing of the complaint and summons.
