Bitter social diary standoff

IT’S the war of the socials! Palm Beach Social Diary founder Jessica Fontaine Swift has secured an injunction against New York Social Diary and its contributor Christine Schott Ledes, a fixture on the social circuit, for allegedly trying to steal her business.

Swift alleged that Ledes, who works for NYSD legend David Patrick Columbia, waited until she was on maternity leave and sneakily tried to launch a rival Palm Beach Social Diary to swipe all of her advertisers.

Now, a judge in a Palm Beach County court has issued a preliminary injunction banning Ledes and New York Social Diary from using Palm Beach Social Diary in Florida.

Swift started PBSD in July 2017 and it operates as a Web site with an annual print edition. She was introduced to Ledes in late 2018, who “requested business documents, including business plans, posing as a potential investor,” the papers stated.

They met again in 2020, when Swift was pregnant. Shortly after, “When Mrs. Swift was due to be consumed with giving birth and caring for her newborn son, defendants Schott and NYSD began conducting business in South Florida as ‘Palm Beach Social Diary,’ both in person and through online activities,” the papers stated. Ledes announced to people in Florida that she was running “the real” PBSD and set up an Instagram account.

The May 10 order stated that Ledes and NYSD “copied the exact literal aspect of the Plaintiff’s registered mark ‘Palm Beach Social Diary’ in order to compete directly against . . . PBSD,” resulting in “actual confusion . . . in Florida commerce.” Swift said, “We couldn’t be more thrilled . . . This news comes after enduring two years of relentless attacks.” She intends to also sue for defamation. A lawyer for Ledes said, “This is a preliminary finding, following a brief hearing where Christine didn’t even testify. The findings are unsupported by anything but speculative, angry testimony from someone likely to be discredited at final hearing.”