A Hairy Damages Case

The Fifth Circuit reinstated a jury verdict, set aside by the trial court as unsupported by sufficient evidence, in I&I Hair v. Beauty Plus. The case involved unfair-competition claims about synthetic hair braids.

The district court opinion identified, inter alia, problems with (1) whether the plaintiff presented adequate evidence of its own lost-profit damages (i.e., evidence about business expenses and overhead, to avoid overreliance on informatoin about gross revenue and profit margin), and (2) whether the plaintiff inappropriately asked the jury to equate defendants’ profits with the plaintiff’s lost profits, without sufficient evidence that I&I would have captured all those sales.

The Fifth Circuit held that the jury had a sufficient foundation for its damages award, reminding generally that “[plainitff] had to provide evidence that would permit an award; it does not have to substantiate the specific figure the jury awarded.” No. 24-10374 (Sept. 5, 2025).