Wenyu Lu

After five months of legal volleys, the courts have ended the $450 million lawsuit accusing Alexander Wang of operating a sweatshop in New York City.

Judge Harold Baer of the New York federal court dismissed the suit on Monday, but lawyers for the plaintiffs and the defendants came to a settlement at the beginning of August. Terms of this agreement were not disclosed, but one of its stipulations was that both sides request the case be thrown out.

"We are gratified that this matter has been dismissed, as the allegations were unfounded and completely false," said a spokesman for Wang. Lawyers for the plaintiffs have not commented on the matter.

The suit has been the focus of much media scrutiny since it was filed in March, when a group of 30 former Wang employees led by Wenyu Lu claimed they had been forced to work 16 days with no breaks in a cramped, windowless room. Another former employee, Flor Duarte, filed a separate suit later in which she claimed that she was fired after applying for workers' compensation. From the beginning of the case, spokespeople for Wang have said they would "vehemently defend any allegations" of wrongdoing, but that didn't stop the brand's SoHo store from being egged in late March.

A week after the egging, lawyers for Wang said in court papers that Lu was disgruntled because he was fired for bullying other employees. In June, the lawyers said Lu and Duarte had "mischaracterized their former workplace as a hovel, while attempting to portray defendants as 'sweatshop owners,'" in an attempt to exact a big settlement.

>> Alexander Wang has again denied claims that he operated a sweatshop, and said the former employee suing the company for doing so only orchestrated the lawsuit to get even with the company for firing him.

A spokesman for Wang told WWD that Wenyu Lu, whose suit against Wang and his brother Dennis claims he was forced to work up to 15-hour shifts without breaks, that Lu only made these claims against the company in retaliation. The spokesman said Lu was dismissed for bullying other employees, something that the company refused to tolerate.

"The claims regarding sweatshop conditions are completely untrue," the spokesman said. "In reality, this case was filed by an individual who was let go by the company as a result of serious harassment issues. We stand by our decision to promote a safe workplace environment for all employees regardless of false claims that may be waged against us in retaliation."

The story Lu's lawsuit told claims he was fired because he applied for worker's compensation after sustaining injuries on the job. The spokesman didn't address Flor Duante, another former employee who's suing the company and claims she was fired because she complained about having to work long hours.

Lu's suit was originally filed in Queens Supreme Court, but was refiled in Federal Court on Friday. Lawyers for Alexander Wang now have 20 days to reply to Lu and Duante's allegations in court.

>> The lawsuit accusing Alexander Wang of operating a sweatshop in New York City will soon be discontinued, only to be refiled in federal court in short order.

Wenyu Lu — whose original $50 million suit accused Alexander and his brother Dennis Wang of using exploitative labor practices in their New York workspace — filed a motion to discontinue the suit last Thursday. Lu's lawyer Ming Hai told Page Six that Lu plans to resubmit the suit to federal court, where he'll be represented by another lawyer who has more experience with labor law. Lu's suit claimed that he was forced to work for 25 hours straight without a break. Another former employee, Flor Duarte, filed a suit claiming that she was fired after filing for worker's compensation.

Wang's camp has repeatedly denied the allegations, telling Page Six, "The claims of sweatshop conditions were completely and utterly untrue in every respect."