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MonaVie - the nutritional drink company - is being sued by Imagentix for 2.75 BILLION dollars, yup BILLION dollars, for alleged trademark infringement.

Imagentix, a California based health company (with no working website) is suing MonaVie for falsely claiming that their products contain Celadrin, an anti-inflammatory therapy taken orally and used as a cream. Imagentix owns the patent to Celadrin and claims that MonaVie is falsely claiming that their products contain the formula. Imagentix sells Celadrin over the counter at retail stores including Costco and Walgreen’s.

According to documents filed this month in U.S. District Court in Southern California, Imagentix is suing the company and some top distributors for trademark infringement, false advertising, and unfair competition.

The lawsuit cites several MonaVie press releases from 2005 released by MonaVie claiming that their product contained Celadrin. They also say MonaVie allowed a video to be released, produced by a top distributor, claiming that MonaVie contained “esterified fatty acids,” the central ingredient of the Celadrin.

You really dont have to look too far to find Celedrin mentioned by MonaVie. I little investigating found the name listed right on MonVie’s website as one of the Top Ten Reasons to join MonaVie (#3). Even a basic Google search of MonaVie and Celedrin produces over 16,500 results.

In papers filed by Imagenetix they are asking for an injunction against the company to prohibit distributors from making claims that their products contain Celadrin. Imagenetix is also requesting a jury trial as well as punitive damages of $500 million dollars. The company wants reimbursement from damages suffered to their business which they estimate to be $750 million, but they want that number tripled to $2.25 billion or as an alternative, $1 million per wrongful Celadrin claim on any MonaVie Marketing Material.

MonaVie President Dallin Larsen released a statement that said the lawsuit is the result of a misunderstanding between the two companies. “They’re supposed to be dismissing it tomorrow,” Apparently, nobody at Imagenetix got that message as representatives from the company including CEO William Spencer had no response when asked about the lawsuit being dismissed.

This is just more bad news for MonaVie who is also currently involved in a nasty dispute with Quixtar, a sister company of Amway. MonaVie has gotten in trouble in the past for making claims that their products are “cancer cures.” It seems as if in a rush to get ahead of the game amongst the “super fruit” drinks, MonaVie is taking some unethical shortcuts. We will keep you up to date as more details of the suit role in.

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