According to Legal Newsline, an Internet-based newswire dedicated to 24/7 coverage of state supreme courts and state attorneys general:
Rodan and Fields alleges the maker of Olay is attempting to “stifle” its truthful advertising regarding a product.
Rodan & Fields LLC filed a complaint on March 20 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against The Procter & Gamble Co. citing the Lanham Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that in October 2017 after introducing its anti-aging skin care products, the defendant allegedly commenced a campaign to prevent the plaintiff from making “truthful claims” about the plaintiff’s Intensive Renewing Serum product.
The plaintiff alleges the defendant sent it a cease in desist letter in December 2017 over allegations the plaintiff’s website, YouTube videos, and R&F consultant social media posts “contain false and misleading claims regarding the efficacy of the product and the ingredient retinal.”
The suit states the defendant filed a challenge against the plaintiff with the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus in February over allegations of false advertising.
“Unless and until Rodan & Fields’ advertising is declared permissible under United States law, Rodan & Fields’ ability to inform consumers about the truthful properties of its Intensive
Tag Archive for Lawsuit
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Bulgarian Prosecutors Join In Anti-Money Laundering Operation Against OneCoin
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
According to an article in the Sofia Globe, a Bulgarian newspaper:
Bulgaria’s Special Prosecutor’s Office said on January 19 that it was involved in an international operation to neutralise a large-scale pyramid structure involving commercial fraud, multi-level marketing and money laundering through the creation and distribution of OneCoin.
OneCoin, which has an office in Sofia, describes itself as a virtual currency. In September 2016, it was the subject of a warning by the UK Financial Conduct Authority.
A statement by the Prosecutor’s Office said that prosecutors and investigators from the Special Prosecutor’s investigation unit, as well as officers from Bulgaria’s directorate against organised crime and the State Agency for National Security, were involved in the international investigation.
This was on the basis of an international legal assistance order from the Prosecutor’s Office in the German city of Bielefeld (North Rhine-Westphalia) which had arrived in October 2017.
Representatives of Eurojust and Europol are actively involved in the execution of the court order, the Prosecutor’s Office said.
Bielefeld prosecutors had asked the Bulgarian authorities to carry out specific procedural and investigative actions on the territory of Bulgaria vis-à-vis the Bulgarian company “One Network Services” EOOD and its affiliates, including two Bulgarian women with German citizenship.
Investigators had identified the
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LuLaRoe Hit By A Class Action Law Suit Accused To Be A Pyramid Scheme
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
According to an article in Business Insider:
Direct sales clothing brand LuLaRoe is no stranger to controversy. From torn leggings to salespeople who claim they were encouraged to incur massive debt, the company has struggled to maintain its emphasis on community and self-empowerment during a period of massive growth.
LuLaRoe is now facing a class-action lawsuit that alleges it misled its salespeople in what the plaintiffs are calling a “pyramid scheme.”
The suit, which has four plaintiffs from across the US, alleges that the company deceived salespeople — who are called “consultants” — by telling them they could return unsold inventory for a full refund if they decided to leave the company.
A sudden change to the policy in September lowered the promised refund from 100% to 90% of purchased inventory, with additional restrictions. According to Yahoo, many consultants said that they felt comfortable joining the company because of the buyback guarantee, thinking that they wouldn’t face financial stress if they weren’t able to sell as much clothing as they had hoped.
The plaintiffs allege that in changing the rule, the company misled consultants who thought they would still be able to sell clothing with the 100% buyback guarantee.
The suit was filed on October 13 in the US
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Herbalife Is corrupt, Circle Of Success Events Are Useless, Lawsuit Claims
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
As published in Legal NewsLine:
Calling Herbalife a “corrupt organization of individuals,” several plaintiffs have filed a class action lawsuit over allegations that the multi-level marketing company’s Circle of Success events are “valueless.”
Jeff Rodgers, Patricia Rodgers, Michael Lavigne, Jennifer Lavigne, et al., individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, filed a complaint on Sept. 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Herbalife LTD.;
Herbalife International Inc.; Herbalife International of America Inc., et al. alleging that the defendants violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, unjust enrichment and other counts.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that defendants’ Circle of Success events are held each month in dozens of locations across the country and range in size from 200 to 20,000 attendees.
Plaintiffs claim that they have spent thousands of dollars attending these events but received no benefit from doing so despite defendants’ continued guarantee of significant income, a better lifestyle and even happiness by attending.
They allege the defendants use “misrepresentation and deceit” to sell the “emotionally manipulative” events, the suit states.
The suit states
“the events are pitched as a guaranteed pathway to attaining life-changing financial success” and that participants are told to attend every
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5Linx Partners Charged With Cheating Investors
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
The original partners of 5Linx, once one of Rochester’s fastest growing companies, cheated investors out of more than $4 million, federal authorities allege according to an article in the Democrat & Chronicle.
The illegally gained money could be as much as $11 million, court papers allege.
The three partners — Craig Jerabeck, Jason Guck and Jeb Tyler — were charged today in federal court with defrauding investors between 2009 and 2015. The three were released on bond of $100,000 a piece.
5Linx was once a highly successful network marketing company, with products ranging from nutritional supplements to wireless security systems. However, there have been clear strains in recent years between past and current 5Linx management.
The Democrat and Chronicle previously reported on allegations in a lawsuit against Jerabeck, who had left the company.
Jerabeck was accused of
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AdvoCare Distributors File Lawsuit
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
According to USA – based magazine The Dallas News 2 former distributors of nutritional supplements from AdvoCare filed suit this week in federal court claiming they lost thousands of dollars in the deal and alleging that the sales program is essentially a pyramid scheme:
Lisa Ranieri of Virginia and Megan Cornelius of California said they each “lost thousands of dollars trying to be a successful distributor,” according to the suit, filed in the Northern District of Texas.
Lindsay Bomar, an AdvoCare spokeswoman, said the company “unequivocally [is] not operating a pyramid scheme.”
“We vehemently dispute all of the claims” about the product and the business model. AdvoCare, a big supporter of NASCAR racing, sells nutritional and weight-loss supplements through direct marketing. That’s a business model in which distributors are paid in part based on
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Nerium Vs. Modere Lawsuit – The Follow Up
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
On December 30th, 2016, Nerium International filed a lawsuit against Modere.
Nerium claims the lawsuit, which also sought a Temporary Restraining Order, was an attempt to stop two of its high-ranking salespeople and a paid Nerium consultant from raiding Nerium’s salesforce and customers, in direct violation of their non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, for a competing company Modere.
Modere (and individuals respectfully) requests that Nerium’s Emergency motion to Compel be denied, that it be ordered to reserve written discovery in accordance with the typical non-emergency guidelines with the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, that such discovery be narrowly tailored in accordance with the jurisdictional claims it has made, and for all such other relief to which they may be entitled.
The following exchange comes from the Deposition of Dennis Windsor, the President of Nerium from its
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Jeff Olson – CEO Nerium International Accused Of Massive Fraud
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
Nerium SkinCare and Nerium Biotechnology, partners of Nerium International, accuse CEO Jeff Olson from multi-million dollar fraud and ask in a lawsuit, inspection of the books.
From the law suit:
Nerium (Skincare) has recently obtained concrete evidence of numerous inappropriate transactions—totaling millions of dollars—that were directed or overseen by Jeff Olson, the Company’s sole Manager.
This evidence leaves no room for doubt that Olson is guilty of financial impropriety; now the question is the scope and extent. Nor is there any room for dispute that the Company previously underpaid Nerium by millions of dollars in equity and bonus distributions.
After Nerium filed its application to compel records inspection and served discovery regarding the Company’s equity allocations, the Company was finally forced to admit that its prior equity allocations were wrong. Yet it refuses to provide Nerium
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Lawsuit: Former 5Linx President Craig Jerabeck – Fraud Accusations
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
According to an article in the Democrat & Chronicle, an USA Today company, former 5Linx President Craig Jerabeck joined Paycation and offered Business Development Deals to 5Linx leaders and lying to creditors.
The Democrat & Chronicle:
“One of the Rochester-area’s fastest growing companies is embroiled in a legal imbroglio between current and former management, with allegations ranging from the cherry-picking of successful sales employees to lying to would-be creditors about company finances.
5Linx Enterprises, a highly successful network marketing company that sells everything from nutritional supplements to coffee to wireless security systems, last year sued former company President Craig Jerabeck, who left the company in September.
The lawsuit alleged that Jerabeck breached a contractual pact by enticing a number of 5Linx top employees to join him at a new venture. Jerabeck has responded that he did not solicit
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Fifth Circuit Decertifies Class Action Suit Against Stream
by Ramya Chandrasekaran • • 0 Comments
Stream, a leading direct selling company and provider of essential services, on October 16 realized a key appellate victory in its ongoing Federal class action litigation before the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
Arising out of oral arguments held during February 2015, the Fifth Circuit panel voted to decertify a purported class of plaintiffs whose two named representatives alleged violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. This appellate ruling reverses a prior January 2014 order of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas that erroneously certified a class of plaintiffs consisting of current and former Stream Independent Associates.
The Federal class action lawsuit in question alleges that Stream operates a pyramid scheme in violation of Federal racketeering laws. Stream has vehemently denied these charges and