Private-equity firm Lion Capital LLP won the right to rescue the John Varvatos menswear retail operation out of bankruptcy, after a challenge from women who won a $3.5 million Equal Pay Act judgment against the retailer, the Wall Street Journal reported. Earlier, Judge Mary Walrath held that the women failed to show Lion controlled the Varvatos policy that gave men, but not women, a clothing allowance at the rock ’n’ roll menswear seller. Friday, she approved the sale of Varvatos back to a Lion affiliate, Lion Hendrix Cayman Ltd. The acquirer has agreed to provide $2 million to unsecured creditors of John Varvatos, a group that includes the women who sued. Earlier this year, Varvatos female sales associates won a jury verdict in an Equal Pay Act class-action lawsuit that began in 2017, giving them the largest single unsecured claim against the company. Varvatos denied discrimination. The jury ruled against the retailer, awarding $1.7 million in legal fees, as well as the $3.5 million in damages. (Subscription required.)
