Williams-Sonoma Escapes Some Claims Over West Elm Hotel Venture

Williams-Sonoma Inc.'s West Elm brand couldn’t escape a breach of contract claim brought by DDK Hotels LLC in Brooklyn federal court over a failed joint venture.

But the court dismissed other claims against Williams-Sonoma and West Elm, including for breaching a covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

DDK Hotels subsidiary DDK/WE Hospitality Partners LLC and Wiliams-Sonoma subsidiary West Elm started a joint venture to create West Elm-branded hotels. Part of the agreement prevented the parties or their affiliates from engaging in “conflicting interests.”

According to the complaint, West Elm and Williams-Sonoma—aided by one of DDK’s managers, David Wasserman—attempted to ...