Barney’s Execs Ordered to Pay Isetan

A New York state judge ordered the co-chairmen of upscale clothing retailer Barney’s Inc. to pay the roughly $167 million they personally guaranteed on loans from their onetime expansion partner, Isetan Co. The ruling rejected claims by Eugene and Robert Pressman that the firm’s Japanese partner tricked them into signing the guarantees. Isetan filed suit against the Pressmans in January 1996, two days after Barney’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Barney’s, which now has 21 stores, used the $167 million to build stores in Beverly Hills, New York and Tokyo. A source close to Barney’s said the ruling applies only to the Pressman brothers and that they plan to appeal. Barney’s had no comment.