Sona MedSpa Declares Victory in Spite of Its Loss
FRANKLIN, Tenn. (Blue MauMau) – In a press release issued on May 29, Sona MedSpa's CEO Heather Rose, in referring to franchisee Kemp Coady's arbitration win April 9, stated, "This case was one of a string of cases brought against us. The coordinated attack on our business has utterly failed. We are pleased with the result of this arbitration, and even more pleased that our franchise partners are enjoying prosperity in their Sōna MedSpa businesses.”
Although the AAA arbitrator ruled "guilty of negligent misrepresentation" on Count Two against Sona MedSpa, Rose, Jim Amos and other executives, as well as the private equity firm of Carousel Capital, Rose is downplaying the franchisee win to the press. She reports as follows:
"The arbitrator ruled in favor of Sōna on 10 out of the eleven claims brought by Coady. On the single claim decided for Coady, the arbitrator found that the former owners of the business acquired by Sōna did not adequately document one particular claim made to Coady in the previous sale of the franchise. While the arbitrator found that current Sōna management corrected this error once discovered, he said that they should have gone further than they did to ensure that Coady understood the correction. The arbitrator then reduced the damages claimed by Coady to a fraction of what Coady had sought."
She continues, "Meanwhile, that arbitrator found no evidence that Sōna had made any knowingly false representations, breached any contracts, or failed to comply with regulatory requirements. The arbitrator also specifically rejected Coady’s claims that his franchise was worth “little or nothing” when the litigation began, and that the earnings claim in the disclosure documents furnished to its franchisee prospects was false or fraudulent. In fact, the arbitration decision completely clears Sōna’s former CFO, who was the principal preparer of the earnings claim, from any alleged wrongdoing whatsoever."
Rose also said that Sōna looks forward to executing an aggressive growth strategy in the days ahead. The medical spa industry, according to her, is an incredibly vital marketplace completely focused on improving the quality of people’s lives. She states, "We are ready to get back to our mission of helping people in this endeavor.”
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