Quinn v. QVC Group, Inc.

2026 NY Slip Op 30683(U)
CourtNew York Supreme Court, New York County
DecidedFebruary 24, 2026
DocketIndex No. 652440/2025
StatusUnpublished
AuthorNicholas W. Moyne

This text of 2026 NY Slip Op 30683(U) (Quinn v. QVC Group, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court, New York County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Quinn v. QVC Group, Inc., 2026 NY Slip Op 30683(U) (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2026).

Opinion

Quinn v QVC Group, Inc. 2026 NY Slip Op 30683(U) February 24, 2026 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 652440/2025 Judge: Nicholas W. Moyne Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip Op 30001(U), are republished from various New York State and local government sources, including the New York State Unified Court System's eCourts Service. This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official publication.

file:///LRB-ALB-FS1/Vol1/ecourts/Process/covers/NYSUP.6524402025.NEW_YORK.001.LBLX038_TO.html[03/09/2026 3:45:57 PM] FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 02/25/2026 12:56 PM INDEX NO. 652440/2025 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 33 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/24/2026

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK NEW YORK COUNTY PRESENT: HON. NICHOLAS W. MOYNE PART 41M Justice ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X INDEX NO. 652440/2025 MICHAEL QUINN, 07/11/2025, Plaintiff, MOTION DATE 08/14/2025

-v- MOTION SEQ. NO. 001 002

QVC GROUP, INC.,OLD WORLD PROVISIONS, INC, ROSS SHUKET, CHRISTINA PENNYPACKER, JOHN DECISION + ORDER ON DOES 1-10, ABC CORPS 1-10 MOTION Defendant. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X

The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 001) 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 were read on this motion to/for DISMISS .

The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 002) 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 were read on this motion to/for DISMISS .

Upon the foregoing documents, it is

The plaintiff Michael Quinn (“Plaintiff” or “Quinn”) commenced this action seeking damages for breach of contract, tortious interference, and various other claims arising from the sale of his hot dog brand, "Feltman’s of Coney Island," to the defendant Old World Provisions, Inc. (“OWP”) and the subsequent alleged interference by the defendants QVC Group, Inc. (“QVC”) and Christina Pennypacker (“Pennypacker”).

There are two motions currently pending before the Court. In Motion Sequence 001, the defendants OWP and Ross Shuket move to dismiss the complaint pursuant to CPLR §§ 3211(a)(1) and (a)(7). In Motion Sequence 002, the defendants QVC and Christina Pennypacker move to dismiss pursuant to CPLR §§ 3211(a)(1), (a)(7), and (a)(8). FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The Court accepts the following factual allegations in the complaint as true for the purposes of these motions. The plaintiff Quinn was the owner of Feltman’s

652440/2025 QUINN, MICHAEL vs. QVC GROUP, INC. ET AL Page 1 of 9 Motion No. 001 002

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Management HoldCo., LLC, a specialty hot dog company. On or about January 24, 2023, Quinn sold the company and all of its intellectual property to the defendant OWP pursuant to an Asset Purchase Agreement (“APA” or “Contract”) [NYSCEF Doc. No. 17 at ¶¶ 6, 41]. Under the APA, Quinn was to receive royalties for a period of seven years based on sales: $0.20 per pound of protein products for the first two years, $0.15 per pound for the remaining five years, and 5% of net sales for other products [Id. at ¶ 41; NYSCEF Doc. No. 7 at 4]. The plaintiff alleges these royalties were the sole consideration provided by OWP in exchange for the purchase of Feltman’s. [NYSCEF Doc. No. 10 at 4].

Prior to the sale, the plaintiff had successfully marketed the brand through appearances on QVC, generating over $721,000 in sales in three segments [NYSCEF Doc. No. 17 at ¶¶ 7, 17]. However, on or about June 7, 2023, the plaintiff claims that he became the target of a cyberbullying campaign due to his association with a neurodivergent social media influencer, Joshua Block [Id. at ¶¶ 14, 20]. Certain individuals online claimed that the plaintiff was taking advantage of disabled people and was exploiting Block and his autism for personal and financial gain [Id. at ¶19]. These individuals contacted QVC and made knowingly false allegations against Quinn [Id. at ¶ 22].. In response, QVC, through its employee defendant Christina Pennypacker, cancelled all of Quinn's scheduled appearances and demanded that OWP sever all ties with Quinn. Specifically, Pennypacker allegedly emailed OWP executive Ross Shuket stating, "Feltman’s will never appear on QVC as long as Michael Quinn is affiliated with it" [Id. at ¶ 94]. Shuket subsequently demanded Quinn delete his social media presence regarding the brand [Id. at ¶ 27]. The plaintiff alleges that as a result of these actions, OWP ceased marketing the products and withdrew the product from 6,000 retail locations. As a result, sales plummeted, resulting in royalty payments to the plaintiff of less than $500 in 2024 [Id. at ¶¶ 44-45]. The APA contains a clause that the plaintiff refers to as a “sunset provision.” The sunset provision refers to the expiration of the "Deferred Payment Period" as defined in the APA. Under the terms of the deal, the plaintiff transferred full ownership of the Feltman’s brand and intellectual property to OWP in exchange for the royalty payments as set forth above. The royalty payments are contractually limited to a period of seven (7) years commencing on the closing date (January 24, 2023) and ending in 2030 [NYSCEF Doc. No. 7 at 2, § 2.2.1]. The plaintiff argues that this seven-year limitation is critical to his claims for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and fraud for several reasons. The plaintiff maintains that because there was no upfront payment and royalties were the sole consideration, the sunset provision allowed OWP to acquire a valuable company for pennies on the dollar

652440/2025 QUINN, MICHAEL vs. QVC GROUP, INC. ET AL Page 2 of 9 Motion No. 001 002

2 of 9 [* 2] FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 02/25/2026 12:56 PM INDEX NO. 652440/2025 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 33 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/24/2026

(or effectively nothing) if they simply refuse to properly market the product until 2030. Once the seven-year period expires, OWP retains full ownership of the trade secrets, recipes, and intellectual property, but owes the plaintiff no further compensation. The plaintiff argues that this gave OWP incentive to cease all of their marketing efforts and prevent the plaintiff from undergoing any marketing efforts until the royalty payment period under the APA expired. Essentially, the plaintiff argues he was at the mercy of the defendants, creating a legal necessity for this Court to intervene to prevent the contract from being unconscionable or illusory.

DISCUSSION

Motion Sequence 001 In motion sequence 001, the defendants OWP and Shuket move to dismiss pursuant to CPLR §§ 3211 (a)(1) and (a)(7). The defendants claim the cause of action asserted against them in the complaint are conclusively rebutted by documentary evidence and/or fail to state a cognizable claim. For the reasons stated below, the motion is granted in part and denied in part. Under CPLR 3211 (a) (7), the movant has the burden to demonstrate that the complaint, construed liberally in favor of the plaintiff, states no legally cognizable cause of action (Leon v Martinez, 84 NY2d 83, 87-88 [1994]; see also Goshen v Mut. Life Ins. Co. of NY, 98 NY2d 314, 326 [2002]. Plaintiff is accorded “the benefit of every possible favorable inference” (Goshen, 98 NY2d at 326 [internal quotation marks and citation omitted]). “Whether the plaintiff will ultimately be successful in establishing [its] allegations is not part of the calculus” (Greystone Funding Corp. v Kutner, 121 AD3d 581, 583 [1st Dept 2014] [internal quotation marks and citation omitted]).

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Bluebook (online)
2026 NY Slip Op 30683(U), Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/quinn-v-qvc-group-inc-nysupctnewyork-2026.