A Raleigh-area wedding photography business will have to pay nearly $1.7 million after consumers reported hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses for services they said were never provided.
A judge on Monday sided with the North Carolina attorney general’s office in its motion for a default judgment against the company Holly Christina Photography.
According to court filings, the company did not fully comply with a judge’s order to return all undelivered photos and videos within 30 days to the couples who paid for them.
Attorney General Jeff Jackson’s office initially sued the business’s husband and wife owners, Holly Christina Scott Ayscue and Christopher Ayscue, in February after receiving more than 220 consumer complaints about the business.
142 consumers received no refunds, Deputy Attorney General Mercedes Restucha said during Monday’s hearing. 82 were able to obtain reimbursement through their financial institution.
5 On Your Side first reported on the issue in January; the company announced its closure in February.
The state’s motion sought $600,000 in restitution to customers and more than $1 million in civil penalties.
Holly and Christopher Ayscue did not appear at Monday’s hearing and did not immediately respond to WRAL’s request for comment.
Monday’s ruling comes weeks after the co-owners of Holly Christina Photography spoke to reporters outside a Winston-Salem courthouse and said they were doing everything in their power to accomplish what they could. Holly Ayscue said illness contributed to the business’s failure.
In May, a judge issued a preliminary injunction ordering the company to return all edited and unedited photos and videos within 30 days. The order also required the company to cease operations and prohibited its owners from moving company assets.
Under Monday’s decision, the Ayscues will not be able to offer photography services, including accepting advance payments. They are ordered to deliver all photo and video footage for which consumers have paid.
Gn bussni
