'Dancing With The Stars' Pros Maks & Val Chmerkovskiy Sues Former Dance Studio Employees For Allegedly Stealing Their Clients
May 26 2021, Published 6:20 p.m. ET
Maksim and Val Chmerkovskiy are taking two instructors who worked at their dance studios after they allegedly tried to steal clients.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, DWM Dance Studios, which is owned by the Dancing With The Stars pros, has filed lawsuits against two former employees. The company is co-owned by pro-Tony Dovolani.
The first lawsuit was filed against their former instructor named Yuliya Kozhushanova. The suit says the defendant breached their employment agreement.
Maks & Val say they have spent a ton of money to build up the DWM brand. Further, they spend a significant amount of money “to train each and every one of its dance instructors” including Kozhushanova.
In court documents, the brothers say they hired Kozhushanova in March 2020. He began working as an instructor at their studio in Houston, Texas. His employment with the company ended in January 2021.
Val Chmerkovskiy on Dancing With The Stars
In early 2021, Maks & Val say their former employee started soliciting dance students in a 10-mile radius of their studio. They claim she also used knowledge of DWM’s customer lists to send invites to the grand opening of her own studio.
The brothers say her actions have caused them financial harm. They are suing for unspecified damages.
Maks Chmerkovskiy
In a second lawsuit, Maks & Val sued a woman named Debora Bettencourt who worked as an instructor at their studio in Austin, Texas. She started working for them in 2016 and ended in March 2021. They accuse her of using her knowledge of their customer lists to solicit customers after no longer worked for them.
She reportedly contacted their clients on social media despite agreeing not to solicit.
The suit reads, “Defendant breached her obligations under the Employee Agreement by violating the covenant not to solicit customers of Plaintiff and agreement not to disclose proprietary information belonging to Plaintiff to the detriment of Plaintiff, including client lists or information.”
In the lawsuit, the brothers are also seeking unspecified damages from Bettencourt.
Monica Aldama & Val Chmerkovskiy on Dancing With the Stars
Maks & Val don't play around and have filed multiple lawsuits in the past against former employees.