HACKENSACK, N.J. _ A New Jersey woman is suing a country club for $30,000 after she said a club waiter spilled wine on her Hermes handbag last year.
On Sept. 7, 2018, Maryana Beyder was enjoying a meal at the Alpine Country Club in Demarest when a waiter spilled red wine on the pink luxury handbag, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.
"Whoever the waiter was proceeded to pour red wine and didn't stop," said Alexandra Errico, Beyder's attorney. "Poured it all over her. Poured it all over her husband. And poured it all over a very expensive Hermes bag."
Calls to Alpine Country Club were not immediately returned.
For nearly a year, Beyder tried to resolve the issue with the country club directly, said Errico. But the club dragged out the discussions and stopped being responsive, she said. Even the insurance company was dismissive, failing to understand why a bag would cost so much, she said.
"It's sort of like a rich person problem," said Errico. "They couldn't comprehend that a bag could be that much. I think that was the biggest problem with that. They kind of discriminated against her that she actually owned that type of bag."
Along with suing the unidentified waiter for damages, Beyder is also suing the ultra-exclusive and ultra-expensive country club for "negligent hiring" of the waiter.
Hermes handbags are often priced in the tens of thousands.
In 2017, a Hermes handbag sold at an auction in Hong Kong for $377,000, breaking the world record for most expensive bag sold at auction.
The Himalaya Birkin handbag sold at the auction wasn't just any handbag. It was a variation of a handbag conceived of by Hermes founder Jean-Louis Dumas and actress/singer Jane Birkin on a flight from Paris to London.
The Himalaya Birkin version was made from the hide of a Nile crocodile that once lived in Africa. Its buckles were 18 karat gold. Plus it had strap loops encrusted with 205 diamonds for good measure.
