A woman is appealing a judge’s order that an arbitrator rather than a jury must hear her fraud and other claims against a Beverly Hills matchmaking service founded by two sisters who have made media appearances touting their way of helping single people in search of love.
The plaintiff is Gena Wang and she alleges in her Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that she was falsely guaranteed marriage if she paid the $20,000 fee. The proposed class-action lawsuit names as defendants Matchmakers in the City and its two sibling creators, Alessandra Conti and Cristina Conti Pineda. In addition to fraud, the suit alleges violations of the dating service contracts act and the state Business and Professions Code as well as breach of contract.
In a sworn declaration, Conti said Wang’s September 2024 platinum membership agreement to be a bachelorette with Matchmakers calls for her to arbitrate any disputes. In June, Judge William F. Highberger granted a defense motion to compel arbitration of the plaintiff’s claims.
Highberger, who said he was not convinced by Wang’s arguments to keep the case before him, wrote that the woman conceded she did not fully read the terms and conditions and thought they dealt with privacy and website conduct.
“Plaintiffs testimony is insufficient to defeat formation,” the judge wrote. “Nothing in the language surrounding the textbox suggested the terms did not include an arbitration provision, or that they solely concerned privacy and use of the website.”
Highberger put the case on hold pending the outcome of the arbitration and scheduled a case review for Jan. 14, 2027.
In her suit filed Dec. 17, Wang sought unspecified compensatory damages as well as injunctive relief stopping both further alleged advertising or promising guaranteed marriage/matches. She also sought to bar the enforcement of the service’s alleged no-refund provisions.
An MITC representative previously issued a statement regarding the lawsuit.
“For over 13 years, our family-run matchmaking company has been rooted in old-school values, genuine care and a deep mission for helping people find meaningful connections,” the statement read. “The allegations in this lawsuit are false, unfounded and not supported by any evidence.”
Alessandra Conti appears in Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and she and her sister have her sister have been featured in Forbes, CBS, The New York Times, the CW Network, Fox News and more, according to the MITC website.
According to Wang’s suit, she met with the Conti sisters over Zoom before signing her contract and explained her criteria for a partner, including cultural, religious and racial preferences tied to the memory of her late husband.
The Contis assured Wang that they had a vast network and database of highly qualified and suitable candidates, that they could guarantee a marriage match if Wang signed up and that their relationship coaches were equivalent to licensed psychologists or therapists, the suit alleges.
However, MITC failed to deliver the alleged promised guaranteed dates or marriage match, leaving Wang “financially devastated and emotionally traumatized,” the suit further states.