Heather Mills, the model and ex-wife of Paul McCartney, does not owe her former PR firm $168K, a federal appeals court ruled Feb. 14.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal district court, which earlier ruled for Mills, who was accused of misrepresentation and fraud.
Parapluie, the Los Angeles PR firm of Michele Blanchard that represented Mills from 2005-08, was paid at a rate of $5K-per month before agreeing to a reduced rate of $3K starting around March 2007, when Mills said she couldn't afford the higher rate, according to the opinion by court.
After the client-firm relationship soured and Blanchard quit in July 2008 – after Mills' nearly $49M divorce was settled – she sent Mills a final invoice of $168K, representing the balance due on a $5K/month billing rate. Blanchard's firm sued, alleging Mills misrepresented her financial situation and falsely promised to pay the PR pro when Mills got the "big money," according to the court.
The court held that Parapluie did not produce enough evidence to force a trial over whether Mills lied about her ability to pay and whether a promise was made to pay the balance later.
The suit was originally filed in 2011.
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