Manhattan socialite suing Pottery Barn over Black Friday fall through floor

December 30, 2019

A Manhattan socialite claims she’s “lucky to be alive” after an Upper East Side shopping trip on Black Friday turned terrifying — and she fell through a trap door at a Pottery Barn store.

Jane Scher — the mother of Libbie Mugrabi, and a cosmetic nurse at upscale SkinTight MedSpa — filed a lawsuit Dec. 6 in New York State Supreme Court against Pottery Barn Teen and its owner Williams Sonoma alleging negligence and seeking unspecified damages because she “sustained serious and severe personal injuries” in a scary fall at the store.

Scher claims in the suit that she popped into Pottery Barn Teen on Second Ave. on Nov. 29 and that she “fell violently” “down an unprotected … hole in the floor that was not guarded, barricaded or warned against in any manner.” The suit claims that she “sustained serious and severe personal injuries” as a result of the tumble. It also claims that the incident “was due solely [to] the negligence” of the company.

The "trap door" Scher fell through
The “trap door” Scher fell throughProvided

Scher tells Page Six that after the alleged fall she told her assistant, who was with her, to call 911, and was taken to the ER.

Besides any alleged damage to her body she said her “beautiful J. Mendel mink coat was torn,” plus bracelets from Van Cleef & Arpels worth $40,000 to $50,000 she was wearing were broken. She was also carrying a Birkin bag.

“I’m really damaged for life,” Scher told us. “I can’t ski anymore.” She said she was previously “doing the hardest Tracy Anderson classes” — with Anderson herself — multiple times per week, but can’t anymore. Instead, she’s “Resting a lot. I have to thank God that I’m walking. I’ve cut down my schedule, I can’t do what I did.”

Scher being taken from the Pottery Barn by emergency personnel
Scher being taken from the Pottery Barn by emergency personnelProvided

Thankfully, “My family, the minute this happened, they were all there,” she said. “My daughter knows I’m very vain — she had a manicurist there, she had someone color my hair. My fingernails were [broken] and bleeding.”

An attorney for Scher, Robert J. Hantman, told us: “Safety for customers is Ms. Scher’s main concern and she hopes for a fast and fair resolution.” Her suit was filed by attorney Howard Raphaelson. Reps for Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn Teen did not get back to us.

Scher’s daughter Libbie has made headlines for her ongoing divorce case with her ex, David Mugrabi, of the famed art family.

Scher’s MedSpa partners include Dr. David Fox and Dr. Andrew Rohen.

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