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Mineral Resources International, Inc. (MRI) announced today the filing of a legal complaint against Trace Minerals Research, L.C. (TMR) alleging false advertising and unfair competition.
The civil complaint, which was originally filed August 11, 2008, in the Utah Second District Court, Weber County, originally asserted a claim against TMR, James Crawford (a TMR employee), and eight of TMR’s distributors, including MineralOasis.com, for unfair competition.
The complaint was amended today to include a false advertising claim against TMR and its eight distributors, alleging among other things that TMR and its distributors engaged in false advertising and deceptive trade practices in relation to MRI’s elete Electrolyte Add-In™ (elete) trademark and product. elete is a liquid electrolyte concentrate manufactured and sold by MRI as a dietary supplement.
The amended complaint alleged that TMR engaged in false advertising practices relating to the ‘Supplement Facts’ label of TMR’s imitation “Endure.” Recent independent lab tests of two separate manufacturing lots or batches of TMR’s “Endure” product revealed that the imitation product contained approximately 80 to 90 percent less potassium than is claimed on the label. MRI alleged that the combined actions of TMR and its distributors have disparaged the goodwill and other proprietary and intellectual property of MRI associated with elete.
MRI has requested the court to grant relief against TMR and its distributors in the form of damages and injunctive relief, requiring TMR and its distributors to promulgate corrective advertising and enjoining them from continuing to engage in any behavior prohibited by the Utah Truth in Advertising Act, including a product recall of misbranded, mislabeled, or adulterated ‘Endure’ product and/or other corrective action.
This is a new action, independent of prior litigation between MRI and TMR.
