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Brian Gould, CEO of Trulife Distribution, is being sued for fraud and deceptive trade practices. Here’s what the Trulife Distribution lawsuit entails.
In a scenario that sounds like it could be right out of an episode of HBO’s Succession, the CEO of health and wellness company Trulife Distribution is being sued by his father, the owner of competitor Nutritional Products International (NPI).
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In a lawsuit filed on May 6, 2022, in a U.S. District Court in Florida, Brian Gould of Trulife Distribution was accused of false and misleading statements, unfair and deceptive trade practices, and fraud. According to court records, the Trulife Distribution lawsuit was filed by NPI, which is owned by Gould’s father, Mitch Gould, and is where Brian was previously employed.
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What is the Trulife Distribution lawsuit about?
In the lawsuit, NPI claims that Trulife made false and misleading statements of fact in commercial advertisement and promotion with “the intention to deceive NPI’s clients and prospective clients.” Trulife’s alleged misleading statements were made in interstate commerce and have “caused or is likely to cause competitive or commercial injury to NPI,” the complaint stated.
Both businesses are based in Boca Raton, Fla. NPI was founded by Mitch Gould in 2008 to help foreign brands distribute in the U.S. and U.S. brands expand their distribution. Brian Gould founded TruLife Distribution in 2019 after spending 13 years as president of NPI, per his LinkedIn profile.
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In NPI’s allegations against Trulife, it claims Trulife sent a potential client case studies and testimonies that were from NPI, which Brian Gould had access to when he was employed there.
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“Trulife utilized these case studies to induce clients to pay set up and monthly fees,” the lawsuit read. “However, the potential client became suspicious and, after internet research, realized that these case studies did not represent Trulife’s performance. They represented NPI’s performance.”
“Trulife’s soliciting of NPI’s clients and potential clients throughout the world utilizing the NPI case studies has resulted in harm to NPI,” stated the lawsuit.
NPI also claims that Trulife used an email address that appeared to come from NPI to mislead potential clients. “On or about February 14, 2022, plaintiffs (NPI) were copied on an email that was addressed to ‘briang@nutricompany.com,’ which was never created by NPI’s IT department, and it is believed that discovery will reveal that it was fraudulently created by defendant (Trulife), a competitor, to sabotage and convert NPI business to Trulife,” the lawsuit stated.
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Through these misleading actions, Trulife violated Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, the federal Lanham (Trademark) Act, and the federal Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, the complaint alleged.
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A previous Trulife distribution lawsuit by NPI was resolved.
According to the lawsuit, a previous lawsuit NPI filed against Trulife was resolved through mediation on July 8, 2021. The accusations against Trulife in the 2022 lawsuit happened after the 2021 settlement, the lawsuit stated.
NPI is asking the court for permanent injunctions against Trulife that would prohibit them from “misrepresenting NPI case studies as Trulife case studies” and “creating and utilizing email accounts appearing to be NPI domains.” NPI is also seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorney’s fees and court costs.
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