A Luke Combs fan who was selling tumblers of the country musician to keep up with bills recently faced a lawsuit for copyright infringement. But on Wednesday, Combs himself tried to make things right with the fan.
In a TikTok that has more than 10.6 million views, Combs says he only learned about the lawsuit on Wednesday. He explains he works with a company that is supposed to be going after “large corporations operating internationally that make millions and millions of dollars making counterfeit T-shirts, things of that nature.”
Nicol Harness, a single mother based in Florida, had been selling Combs-themed tumblers on Amazon for $20 each since the summer, according to WFLA. She claims she bought the tumbler artwork herself and only made around $380 on her sales.
A lawsuit against Harness was filed in Illinois federal court in October, but she did not discover it until she found an email in her junk folder. In April, the Illinois Supreme Court amended the state law to allow the service of process by email. In Florida, a process server still must serve a lawsuit in person.
Harness was sued for $250,000. Because she did not respond to the junk email, the judge ruled against her without her knowledge.
@lukecombs #duet with @Jess_Davi #CountryMusic #LukeCombs ♬ original sound – Jess_Davi
Combs says he spoke with Harness, who was apologetic about what happened. He added that he is sending Harness $11,000 to help double the $5,500 that is allegedly locked in her Amazon account as a result of the lawsuit. Harness is no longer selling the tumbler.
Fans who learned of the lawsuit on Tuesday were waiting for Combs’ response.
“Thank you for making this right [heart emoji], cause ppl were ready to ride at dawn,” said one commenter.
The Daily Dot reached out to Combs for comment.
