Hi, this is Chris, Stacey's husband, and I'm seeking your help in finding Stacey's smile again. Many of you know her as vibrant, friendly, and full of life, but recent life events have stolen her smile and happiness.

Stacey owns an interior design company (solopreneur) and works very hard to create beautiful spaces and provide excellent service to her clients. Unfortunately, she did a project in 2021-2022 for a client who sued her company for something that was NOT Stacey's fault - the client even admitted in an e-mail that it wasn't Stacey's fault. Yet, she still persisted with a lawsuit. Despite this e-mail evidence and 2 contractors testifying that the issue wasn't the responsibility of the interior designer, a judgment was ruled against Stacey's company. The judgment amount of nearly $17,000 even included renovation work that Stacey's company wasn't involved in and wasn't relevant to the disputed matter of the case! The judge simply didn't care to pay attention to the details of the case. She has a reputation for being anti-business and having a short attention span. The judge even expressed halfway through the 6-hour trial that she was "confused, didn't understand the facts of the case, and wanted to go home." Seriously. What a miscarriage of justice.

Stacey could have filed an appeal, but the legal fees to do so were staggeringly expensive. As it was, the prep and trial representation cost over $15,000 in legal fees, which more than wiped out her small company's funds. So an appeal wasn't financially possible. Stacey even closed her company because the emotional burden of what she had been through with the lawsuit was too much to handle. She was immensely depressed and spent days in bed crying. Honestly, there were times when I didn't know if she would make it through and I feared she would hurt herself. Eventually, things improved little by little, and she gained the courage and energy to start a new company. She loves interior design, and clients and friends convinced her to not let this awful experience stop her from pursuing and working in her passion.

As if last year's legal battle hadn't been bad enough, the former client has now filed a lawsuit against Stacey personally (and her new company). She now has to find the money to defend herself again. Being hit with this second lawsuit has devastated her, and she's back in that terrible state of depression. I've been staying home from work to make sure she's not alone. I'm working on getting her help with therapy, but it's a process.

This past year and a half have been so hard. Our lives have been upended by stress - emotional, mental, financial, etc. There are times when I can distract her with bike rides and social events and she tries her best to put on a brave face, but I know how much she's hurting inside. I miss seeing my wife smile. It devastates me to see her sobbing with sadness over the loss of the business that she spent years building and the injustice committed by this former client and the judge. It all just feels so WRONG.

I'm hoping that Stacey's (and my) friends, family, colleagues, cycling buddies, former classmates, and anyone who has ever enjoyed a moment with my wonderful wife to please consider making a donation. We're trying to raise money to ease the financial burden of the legal fees she's incurred during this battle, the judgment against her company, and the new lawsuit. Anything will help - whether $5, $10, $18 (Jewish "chai" - "to life"), or more. Thank you for your kindness, generosity, and support. I dream of seeing my wife get back to her usual self and be able to put this awful chapter behind us.