Better sued for $1.8 million over advertising payments

A major publisher claims Better Home & Finance hasn't paid over $1.8 million from ad placements late last year across brands such as Investopedia, Martha Stewart, and Southern Living. 

A federal judge this week allowed Better and Dotdash Meredith, the Iowa-based publisher, to keep confidential information private in a potential discovery process. Better's ads, according to case filings, ran across Dotdash's websites between last fall and early winter.

Better denied the allegations in a lawsuit response in April, and in a statement Tuesday declined to comment further on active litigation. Attorneys for both parties and a representative for Dotdash didn't respond to requests for comment.

The publisher filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in March, and the sides were granted the protective order Monday, the same day Better released its first earnings as a public company. The lender earlier this month completed an arduous two-year journey to go public, and has endured a rough first week of trading, closing Tuesday at $0.85 per share. 

Dotdash, referred to simply as The Meredith Corporation in the complaint, owns over 40 brands including PEOPLE, Allrecipes and Investopedia. Better's advertisements featured on brands including Better Homes & Gardens; Martha Stewart; Southern Living; Real Simple and Investopedia, according to agreements attached to the complaint. 

The lender agreed to pay a combined $2.1 million across two insertion orders, and still owes Dotdash $1,864,181.43, the publisher said. A discovery deadline is scheduled for Sept. 25, while a trial date for the breach of contract case is set for next April, according to federal court documents.

The lender is still fighting an additional three civil lawsuits in New York federal court, none scheduled to reach trial by the end of this year. Discovery is due by Dec. 1 in a complaint from the firm's former second-in-command, Sarah Pierce, while the same deadline scheduled for next February in a lawsuit from an employee who claims he was laid off while on parental leave.

Better is also set to take competitor Beeline Loans to trial in January in a lawsuit accusing Beeline of stealing its trade secrets including operations, advertising and partner agreement information.