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Neiman Marcus Settles Suit with “Woman Scorned” Who Tried to Return $1.4 Million in Goods

Shoppers outside a Neiman Marcus.

Photo by William Thomas Cain/Getty Images

This post previously appeared on Business Insider.

By Christina Sterbenz

Neiman Marcus has settled a suit brought by a high-end shopper who tried to return $1.4 million in goods her husband bought from a saleswoman who was allegedly his mistress, The Dallas Morning News reports. Patricia Walker’s suit tested Neiman’s famously generous return policy and inspired a 12-page feature last year in the Morning News’ luxury magazine.

The allegations are salacious. Walker says her now-ex husband Robert Tennison bought the merchandise while she recovered from a car accident and he slept with a Neiman Marcus sales associate. Neiman said it wasn’t obligated to take back the goods, calling her suit “nothing more than the ventings of a woman scorned.”

Walker’s attorney Mark Ticer has said the case isn’t about revenge, though. “This is about accountability and getting them to step up and do the right thing,” Ticer told the Associated Press in May.

During a 2012 hearing, Neiman’s attorney told the judge overseeing the case that the store had no written return policy — a claim the judge called “incredible.” That claim prompted Ticer to present a printout from Neiman’s website reading, “You may return for credit, at any time, merchandise with which you are not completely satisfied.”

The lawsuit also named the saleswoman with whom Tennison allegedly had an affair. She earned a large commission from the sales, Walker’s lawyer told ABC News.