Federal Judge Sends P&G v Amway back to Texas court.
On February 14, 2001, a Federal Judge for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals sent P&G v Amway back to the trial judge in Houston. The suit involves allegations of product disparagement and racketeering, and was dismissed in 1999. However, the Appeals Court determined that P&G does not have the legal standing to make claims about misrepresentations by Amway to its distributors.
Procter & Gamble, based in Cincinnati, OH had filed several suits against Ada, MI-based Amway after Amway distributors had used Amway's voice mail system to circulate a rumor that the P&G logo was Satanic to thousands of distributors.
The suit accuses several distributors of fraud and racketeering, and claims that distributors unfairly disparaged P&G products in order to maintain an illegal pyramid scheme.
A spokesman for P&G was "delighted" at the ruling, while Amway issued a statement referring to P&G's "long-standing smear campaign against Amway."
A similar case brought by P&G against Amway was previously dismissed by a Utah trial judge, and then sent back to the lower court by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.
