(prHWY.com) January 17, 2013 - London, United Kingdom -- Former model, Ursa Philbin, who was previously in a relationship with Hon Rikki Verma has taken him and his father Ashok Verma to court in a dispute over brand and asset ownership of My Skinny Rice.
Ursa Philbin, 32, is a former model from Slovenia and she was once on the books of the prestigious Ford Model agency. And now she's taken on the father-son duo over the brand of low-glycaemic rice. Ursa claims that Verma's stole her assets in the brand, which is why she's taken the legal step. While the Tory energy minister, Baroness Verma might not be directly involved in this legal battle, it's certainly causing her a lot of discomfort.
Baroness Verma had recently got herself in hot soup over a remark she'd made about her brief as a minister. She'd privately described it as "all a load of hot air", a comment that has already got her into trouble. This new legal battle is heaping misery on the minister, whose spokesperson has tried to douse the fire by issuing a statement that says that Baroness Verma is not directly involved in the litigation.
However as the details of the suit trickle out, things are likely to get more embarrassing for the minister. It's been said that the assets of the brand were stolen from the former model when her relationship with Hon Rikki Verma began going through trouble. Around the time, Rikki Verma allegedly threatened Ursa that she'd be booted out of the company if she ended their relationship. Eventually the relationship did end last year and further trouble began to brew.
Ms. Philbin claims that this is when the trademark and assets of the company were passed on to other companies owned by Vermas. According to reports, Ms Philbin was credited with bringing about a major change in the perception of the brand; from a product for diabetic and ethnic groups to a noteworthy lifestyle product. According to her claims, Ms Philbin was also recognized as the creator, founder and face of the brand.
Ursa and her lawyers say that this claim is supported by the stakeholder's agreement that was witnessed by Baroness Verma in a private room of House Of Lords. But today Ms Philbin's name and face from the product packaging is concealed. Vermas on their part are vociferous in their denial of these allegations and have stated that the agreement was subject to further discussion. Their legal response also mentions that Ashok Verma transferred the assets of the company to protect them.
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