Lisa Barlow, the self-proclaimed “Queen of Sundance” and a cast member of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” has claimed she does not owe a former business partner more than $400,000 — and even if she did, it’s too late to sue for it.
Attorneys for Barlow last month filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against her and her two businesses, Vida Tequila and Luxe Marketing. The suit, filed in June by Bart Carlson and his building company Yukon Construction, claims Barlow owes Carlson $410,842.36 for money he loaned from 2010 to 2018.
“Carlson has concocted a fanciful tale in which he purports to have bankrolled Barlow and her companies with an open line of credit that had no terms or conditions and no repayment date,” the motion to dismiss says.
Carlson’s attorneys did not respond to The Tribune’s request for comment Friday.
Barlow has fervently denied that she owes Carlson or Yukon Construction any money.
“I pay my bills and obligations and I always have,” she said in a statement in June. “Bart has no interest in Luxe Marketing or Vida Tequila and did not invest in either business. I look forward to the truth coming out and I intend to hold Bart fully accountable for any damage this personal attack may cause me or my business.”
In the motion to dismiss, Barlow’s attorneys argue there is no proof of any contract between Barlow and Carlson, and therefore no proof she owes him anything. And even if there were, the motion claims, it’s too late to sue.
Carlson’s complaint claims Barlow first asked him for money in 2010 because she was “experiencing severe financial difficulties” and needed help covering personal and business expenses. Carlson agreed to help, the complaint alleges, and loaned personal and company money on “flexible terms” to Barlow, her two companies and an attorney on her behalf.
Carlson also opened an American Express credit card in Barlow’s name, the complaint claims, so that he could “more precisely track the expenses Barlow and Vida Tequila incurred.” Carlson paid off $119,585 on that card from 2011 to 2018, according to the complaint.
He did not specify a time by which Barlow needed to pay him back, the complaint claims, “because of his longtime friendship with Barlow and her family.”
However, Barlow’s attorney’s argued, Carlson failed to provide any proof of such an agreement. His evidence — a series of texts from 2019 to 2022, in which Carlson inquires about the debts and Barlow seemingly acknowledges them — do not prove any sort of enforceable contract, the motion to dismiss claims.
“There does not appear to be any provision requiring Carlson to loan money, no procedure by which loans are requested, agreed to, processed, documented or paid back. Indeed, there are no facts alleged where Barlow even specifically asks Carlson for money, the reasons for any loans or the recipient of any loan and no facts about Carlson agreeing to any loans,” the motion says. “This supposed agreement is far too vague to be enforced.”
Even if Carlson could provide proof of Barlow’s debts, her attorneys argued Barlow would not have breached any contract because, “by Carlson’s own admission, there was no time designated for repayment of any loan.”
Finally, even if Carlson’s complaint could account for all of its “deficiencies,” Barlow’s attorneys argue, it’s too late to bring this grievance to court. The statute of limitations on an “oral contract,” which Barlow’s attorneys claim is the only such agreement Carlson might be able to prove, is four years under Utah law. Carlson alleges he offered Barlow a series of loans from 2010 to 2018 and first asked about payment in December 2019, according to court documents. If the clock started with Carlson’s first request for payment, he would have until December 2023 to file a complaint, Barlow’s attorneys argue.
“He waited until June 20, 2024, to file and therefore his suit is untimely,” Barlow’s attorneys say in their motion.
Carlson’s June complaint claims he finally “demanded” Barlow repay him in March, after years of asking. The agreement did not specify a repayment date, the complaint says, but stipulated that Barlow “would be obligated to repay the loaned funds upon Yukon’s demand.”
The alleged loans and financial troubles all happened before “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” started airing in November 2020. Barlow is one of four cast members to face legal difficulties.
• Jen Shah is serving time in federal prison, after being given a 6½-year sentence in January 2023 for leading a nationwide telemarketing fraud scheme.
• Heather Gay and her company, Beauty Lab + Laser, sued fellow cast member Monica Garcia in 2023 for not paying for “cosmetic injections” performed in 2019. In a countersuit that has since been dismissed, Garcia claimed the work was “botched and negligently performed.” Gay’s case is still in court.
Shannon Sollitt is a Report for America corps member covering business accountability and sustainability for The Salt Lake Tribune. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by clicking here.