LOS ANGELES fromwww.courthousenews.com – – Sean Penn’s nonprofit charity, the J/P Haitian Relief Organization, claims the company it paid $25,000 to redesign its website never completed the job and is “holding the website hostage” for another $10,000.

Penn set up the group in January 2010 after the devastating earthquake in Haiti. The group says in its Superior Court lawsuit that it hired Vividminds in November 2010 to create its new website, for $25,000. After payment, the website would belong to J/P Haitian Relief, “because Vividminds was to perform work-for-hire on the website,” according to the complaint.

In March this year, after Vividminds “had neither confirmed a clear completion date nor delivered progress reports,” J/P Haitian Relief told Vividminds that it “must complete the website within four to six weeks,” according to the complaint.

Vividminds did not do it, despite being paid in full; it produced an “insufficient, incomplete, visually unappealing mock-up of a website that does not meet its specifications,” according to the complaint.

On July 14, Penn “insisted that Vividminds immediately give J/P HRO possession of the website,” but Vividminds refused, demanding another $10,000, and is “holding the website hostage,” the complaint states.

J/P Haitian Relief demands $25,000 in damages and an injunction ordering Vividminds to deliver the website.

J/P Haitian Relief is represented by Phillip Maltin and Gary Collis with Gordon & Rees.