SC spa awarded nearly $400K after sour business deal with marketing company
A medical spa in Irmo had its reputation questioned online — forcing the business to change its name — after deal with a marketing company went south.
Now it’s the spa is owed nearly $400 thousand following a civil suit.
On Jan. 7, Circuit Court Judge Jocelyn Newman ordered Columbia Business Listings, LLC and Deedra M. Simmons, to pay Vivid Aesthetics, LLC and Affirmations Med Spa, LLC $389,075 after Simmons failed to respond to a lawsuit filed by the spa.
Vivid Aesthetics — formerly Affirmations Med Spa — is a facility that blends traditional spa treatments with advanced, non-surgical cosmetic treatments, supervised by doctors, physician assistants and nurses, according to the suit.
Columbia Business Listings is a marketing service owned by Simmons. The company was dissolved in June 2024, according to business records.
In the suit, the spa — while still doing business as Affirmations — alleged it hired Columbia Business Listings in December 2022 to market for the facility, located at 120 Hunter Village in Irmo, until around August 2023.
During the term of the agreement, Affirmations paid Simmons $5,675 plus $999 a month, according to the suit.
Following the end of the agreement, in October 2023, Simmons reported Affirmations to the credit bureau based on a “fabricated debt,” the lawsuit said. As a result, Affirmations lost a pre-approved loan agreement with a bank that would have saved the company around $1,100 a month.
Meanwhile, Simmons attempted to use a credit card, provided by Affirmations during the business relationship, for more than 30 unauthorized transactions between October 2023 and December 2023, according to the suit.
The former Columbia-based marketer also began posting phony negative reviews regarding the spa, prompting Affirmations to contact Google and Yelp to have them removed, according to the complaint.
Still, Simmons along with those enlisted by the woman, continued to post negative reviews against the spa, the suit said.
After failing to respond to the suit, Newman ruled Simmons was in default and awarded Affirmations $90,000 in compensatory damages and $100,000 in punitive damages.
But because Newman found Simmons’ conduct “willful, wanton and malicious,” Affirmations was also awarded $272,771 in treble damages, which are damages tripled in cases where the defendant’s behavior was found egregious.
Simmons was also ordered to pay $16,304 in prejudgment interest in addition to a 10.75% interest rate post judgment, according to the order.
