Janice Dickinson's Un-Model Behavior

Janice Dickinson sued for more than $88,000 by jeweler Neil Lane for failing to return several baubles loaned to her for a 2002 photo shoot

By Gina Serpe Jun 29, 2006 6:25 PMTags

Janice Dickinson has found herself on the ugly side of the beauty biz.

Jeweler-to-the-stars Neil Lane is claiming the self-proclaimed World's First Supermodel made off with thousands of dollars of borrowed baubles worn in an August 2002 photo shoot.

Neil Lane Inc. filed the breach-of-contract suit in Los Angeles Superior Court Wednesday, seeking compensatory damages of at least $88,000.

According to the suit, the former cover girl was loaned several pieces of jewelry for use in the photo shoot, including a pair of diamond earrings worth $52,000; a turquoise, pearl and gold necklace worth $14,000; a coral and gold necklace priced at $17,500; and turquoise and pearl earrings valued at $4,500.

"Despite numerous requests," Lane says, Dickinson has failed to return the jewelry.

For her part, the former America's Next Top Model judge claims that the sparkly trinkets were either lost or stolen from her home back in 2002 as she has been unable to find them, a message she relayed to Neil Lane's insurance company.

Per the court filing, Lane's company says its insurance company investigated Dickinson's assertion of theft "and determined that the claim was dubious."

Besides, the suit asserts that while at the photo shoot, the former Surreal Lifer signed an agreement to return all jewelry to Neil Lane, or barring that, be held financially responsible for them.

Dickinson has yet to respond to the allegations.

While she awaits her day in court, Dickinson is keeping plenty busy trying to keep up her celeb status.

The provocateur's latest show, Janice Dickinson's Modeling Agency, debuted earlier this month, albeit to scathing reviews, on the Oxygen network. Her latest book, Check, Please!: Dating, Mating and Extricating, was released, though again, to little acclaim, in May.