Kendall Jenner's being sued by a famous Italian clothing designer for only appearing in one of 2 contracted photo shoots -- but her management team says COVID's to blame, and the company refused to be flexible.
According to the suit filed by Liu Jo ... the company struck a deal with Kendall in early 2019 to pay her $1.5 million to appear in 2 shoots -- one for Liu Jo’s Spring/Summer 2020 campaign and the second originally intended to be used for its Fall/Winter 2020 campaign.
Liu Jo says Kendall fulfilled her obligation for the first shoot in 2019 and received more than $1.3 million by Feb. 2020 when it was time for the second shoot ... but then the coronavirus pandemic happened.
According to the docs ... the Italian fashion house offered to reschedule with Kendall for fall of 2020, but it claims she "ultimately turned down all of Liu Jo’s good-faith offers of compromise."
The company says it even tried to work with her to shoot in October 2020 in Italy when she was already going to be there shooting with another designer ... but Kendall allegedly told them it wouldn't work.
Liu Jo claims it became clear then, she had no intention of fulfilling her contract, so it had to sue ... and it's seeking at least $1.8 million in damages.
However, we're told Kendall's team tried to come up with a compromise to shoot in the U.S. during the pandemic, but it was unable to commit to that. Our sources say it's always her intention to complete every deal ... and it's unfortunate Liu Jo decided to go this route.
A spokesperson for The Society Management tells TMZ ... "This suit is without merit. The Society Management, on behalf of Ms. Kendall Jenner, has continually offered Liu Jo alternative dates and locations to fulfill an agreement that was forced to be delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic."
We're also told Kendall "has willingly offered to complete services honoring her commitments."