Law360 (April 12, 2023, 11:00 PM EDT) -- A California federal judge on Wednesday issued a permanent injunction sought by Monster Energy following its $293 million false advertising win against Vital Pharmaceuticals over its Bang energy drink, ruling Vital must cease selling Bang products featuring the words “creatine” within 60 days, along with other significant restrictions.
Aside from requiring Vital — which does business as VPX — and its former CEO Jack Owoc to stop selling cans, packages or labels of Bang featuring the words “creatine,” the judge also ordered the company to remove or cause to be removed any Bang product that features the word “creatine” from store shelves within 60 days.
The permanent injunction requires the company for 30 days to post on any website or social media account it uses to promote Bang a corrective statement about the jury’s false advertising verdict and cease claiming in advertising and marketing that Bang contains creatine or “super creatine,” or provides any of the physical or mental health benefits associated with creatine.
“Defendants argue that VPX must continue to sell Super Creatine labeled cans because the destruction of its existing cans ‘would cause millions of dollars in losses, severely disrupt VPX’s supply lines and business relationships, and leave VPX unable to fill existing customer orders or meet consumer demands,” U.S. District Judge Jesus Bernal wrote in an order issuing the permanent injunction. “But defendants have brought on themselves these unfortunate consequences through their false advertising.”
John C. Hueston of Hueston Hennigan LLP, who represents Monster, said in a statement that the injunction “is another important victory for our client Monster in an effort to prevent further harm from Bang’s and its founder’s campaign of false statements that we brought to light during our hard-fought trial. Defendants are enjoined and must issue corrective statements to, as the court put it, ‘remedy lingering confusion caused by defendants’ past and ongoing deception.’”
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