Through good times and bad. Kyle Cooke and Amanda Batula’s personal ups and downs weren’t the only thing plaguing their 2021 nuptials — there were legal issues looming over them as well.
The Summer House costars, who tied the knot in September 2021, took fans behind the scenes of their contentious pre-wedding planning on season 6 of the Bravo series. The show, which filmed in summer 2021, revealed that Cooke’s excessive drinking and stress was also related to his financial woes.
“I’m in a lawsuit. I’ve spent $200,000 on legal fees this month. I’m $4 million in debt with the loan for my business. Everything is on the line,” Cooke, 39, told his Hamptons housemates during the April 18 episode of the reality show. “Our florist just dropped out of our wedding.”
Cooke founded Loverboy in 2018. His Summer House costar Carl Radke, who is dating Lindsay Hubbard, is the vice president of sales of Loverboy Inc. Batula, for her part, works as the head of creative and branding for the alcohol company.
While on screen the group appears to be having success with Loverboy — they have cases of the drinks all over their Hamptons house on the series — Cooke confessed that the company has had its fair share of lawsuits over the past few years.
“There’s so much misunderstanding going on right now,” Cooke told pal Danielle Olivera during the April 25 episode, breaking down into tears. “Every day of my f—king … the last three years [have] been stressful.”
He added: “When you’re running a company, when you’re trying to, like, plan a wedding. I’m doing everything. … I’m doing a thousand things a minute. I’m like, ‘How much more can I do and f—king give?’”
Cooke and Loverboy have been involved in several lawsuits since its inception, all of which have since been resolved. The legal drama the TV personality referred to on season 6 of Summer House was his back-and-forth battle with Night Shift Brewing.
The entrepreneur settled two cases with the company in 2021, one just weeks before he and Batula wed at her parents’ home in New Jersey in September.
Scroll down for a complete breakdown of Cooke’s legal woes:
The owner of Loverboy Bar, identified as Mos Eisley, LLC, sued Cooke for trademark infringement in September 2020, according to court documents filed in New York. The plaintiff argued that it has been “making commercial use of its Loverboy Mark in connection with Loverboy services” since its opening of Loverboy Bar, which is located in Manhattan’s east village, in June 2017. That included the “marketing and sale of original craft cocktails” and “to-go cocktails” to its consumers under its label. The bar owner claimed that Cooke’s Loverboy name and logo were similar and therefore wanted the Maryland native to pay three times the damages for “willful infringement.” He also requested Cooke no longer use the Loverboy name or logo. Stephanie Diani/Bravo
Cooke’s company filed a counterclaim seeking “declarative relief,” which is a declaration from the court that would state that Loverboy had every right to use the name and that it didn’t infringe on Mos Eisley’s trademark. The brand also argued that the cocktail bar’s audience was limited to New York City, while Loverboy drinks were a broader demographic. The case was settled out of court and dropped in February 2021. According to court docs, the attorneys and “respective parties” agreed to Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which is a voluntary dismissal of the complaint. “All claims and counterclaims are dismissed with prejudice, each party to bear its own costs and attorney’s fees,” the docs stated. Karolina Wojtasik/Bravo
Night Shift Distributing, LLC initially filed an administration petition against Loverboy in January 2021 with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission. The alcoholic beverage wholesaler came after the company for canceling its contract with them, which they originally agreed upon in October 2019. In December 2020, Loverboy gave a termination notice to Night Shift which would be effective as of January 3, 2021. The distribution company claimed that Loverboy “did not have a good cause to discontinue sales” to Night Shift, according to court documents. One of the biggest reasons for Night Shift’s lawsuit was that Cooke’s company allegedly served it with the termination of contract paperwork “without case and without compensation.” Heidi Gutman/Bravo
Loverboy filed multiple motions for dismissal with the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission both of which were “allowed” as of June 2021. Night Shift’s cross-motion to “compel arbitration” against Loverboy was denied as was Loverboy’s motion for “expedited decision of respondent’s motions to dismiss.” The ABCC dismissed the administrative petition on June 23, 2021. Charles Sykes/Bravo
Loverboy and Night Shift filed a stipulation of dismissal with prejudice with the U.S. district court for the district of Massachusetts in September 2021. The “with prejudice” stimulation means that both parties have waived “any right of appeal.” Shutterstock
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