Dive Brief:

• Dov Charney, the embattled founder of America Apparel Inc. who was fired last year and has not gone quietly, is seeking $40 million in damages over his termination.

• Charney instigated legal action when he was first put on leave in June, but put it all on hold as the retailer decided his fate, which took months; he was fired in December.

• Charney has always maintained that the retailer’s reasons for termination, involving accusations of sexual and financial improprieties, are baseless, and he has continued to make moves that indicate he’d like to return to the company he founded.

Dive Insight:

American Apparel’s move to fire its founder has been quite expensive, and Charney is making sure it’s not getting any cheaper. “Matters arising from” the company's internal review into Mr. Charney’s conduct, according to a company filing, has​ triggered an S.E.C investigation. Now it must contend with the lawsuit that Charney began nearly a year ago.

American Apparel, for its part, has called Charney’s claims “baseless,” an indication that this very costly tit-for-tat will continue.