Arhaus, LLC Files Civil Suit Against Restoration Hardware, Inc. and Lisa Chi

July 28, 2025  by Karen Parrish in Business Strategy, Industry   

The cause of action in the case is an injunction against misappropriation of trade secrets after Chi’s hiring in May. According to the complaint, as reported on MSN.com, “Chi, while at Arhaus, routinely sent proprietary information to her personal email account (and) later “accessed and disclosed’ Arhaus trade secrets, including the company’s fall 2025 catalog, to RH.”

Additionally, the suit alleges that due to the information being disclosed, “RH’s products and marketing materials have begun to resemble and replicate Arhaus’ products and marketing materials.”

The suit is based on the “Defend Trade Secrets Act (of 2016), which provides American companies the opportunity to protect against and remedy misappropriation of important proprietary information in federal court, according to the American Bar Association. According to the DTSA’s broad definition of trade secret, an additional tool is provided to prevent unauthorized disclosure of proprietary information.

In May, when it was announced that Chi would be returning to RH Chairman & CEO Gary Friedman commented that “Lisa’s accomplishments while at Arhaus were impressive as she led the merchandising organization during a period of rapid growth, exceeding the billion-dollar mark during her tenure.”

Prior to her tenure at Arhaus, Chi held positions at RH, Talbots, Kohl’s and Lucky Brand after she began her career in retail at Gap, Inc. where she spent 10 years in various merchandise leadership positions.

The lawsuit “seeks to force changes to Chi’s role and unspecified damages.”

Visit sfchronicle.com, msn.com, and a copy of the filing online here.