A conflict has emerged between The Vault, a local island jewelry store, and Marissa Collections, a luxury boutique from Florida planning to open a new shop in downtown Nantucket next month. The disagreement has escalated to a legal battle.
On Monday afternoon, Katherine Jetter, owner of The Vault, filed a lawsuit against Marissa Collections. The Florida-based company is set to launch a seasonal boutique at 1 Cambridge Street within weeks. The lawsuit accuses Marissa Collections of betrayal and claims that over $250,000 worth of jewelry is being held hostage.
According to the complaint, Marissa Collections’ owners — Jay, Marissa, and Burt Hartington — violated a non-compete agreement with Jetter. This agreement involved protecting confidential business information that The Vault shared during talks about a possible partnership. Despite this, the Hartingtons announced plans to open their Nantucket location in June, just a quarter mile from The Vault’s store at 33 Centre Street.
The lawsuit states, “In the hands of a competitor like Marissa Collections, the confidential information and business strategies they improperly acquired and used pose a serious threat to The Vault and Ms. Jetter. This is especially concerning since Marissa Collections plans to open a store just blocks away during Nantucket’s busy high season, only months after signing the non-compete.”
The court documents, totaling 119 pages, explain that the two businesses began discussing a partnership in 2023. Marissa Collections, previously operating only in Naples and Palm Beach, Florida, wanted to expand into the Nantucket market.
Jetter’s lawsuit claims the Hartingtons had “no experience or knowledge of running a high-end store on Nantucket or understanding the island’s unique seasonal sales and marketing patterns.”
The suit adds, “Ms. Jetter already had an established presence in Nantucket’s luxury market, which the Hartingtons wanted to enter. Under the pretense of exploring a partnership or merger, Jay Hartington visited Massachusetts to meet with Ms. Jetter and collect detailed information about her business operations, marketing strategies, finances, location, and customer base within this exclusive island community.”
Jetter says she entered negotiations in good faith. As talks progressed, they became more thorough. In exchange for sharing confidential information, Jay Hartington signed two contracts — one in April 2023 and another in October 2024. These agreements included strict confidentiality and non-compete clauses, such as a promise not to compete within 50 miles of The Vault and to protect sensitive business secrets. These contracts are part of the lawsuit as exhibits.
The lawsuit also states that Marissa Collections’ CEO assured Jetter they would “never” open a Nantucket store independently, since the island was her “territory.”
“The Vault’s confidential information is highly valuable,” the suit says. “It gives a competitor like Marissa Collections an unfair economic advantage. They gained a roadmap and an early edge in Nantucket’s unique market. The defendants obtained not only operational details but also detailed financial and business analyses with multi-year data. This information remains sensitive and valuable for many future seasonal cycles.”
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