The MonaVie lawsuits ran for nearly a decade and came from every direction: consumers who said the açaí juice’s health claims were false, buyers who alleged the bottles contained lead and arsenic, competitor Amway over distributor raiding, and MonaVie’s own employees after their retirement plan lost more than 99 percent of its value. Most of the cases settled. The company itself defaulted on its debt and was absorbed by Jeunesse Global in 2015, but litigation continued past that point.
Consumer Class Actions Over Health Claims
The first major consumer case, Oliver v. Mona Vie, Inc., was filed in Miller County, Arkansas in December 2010 and produced a proposed $4.5 million settlement covering Arkansas residents who bought MonaVie products between January 2005 and January 2013 and were not distributors. Buyers with proof of purchase could seek a full cash refund; those without documentation could claim product-replacement vouchers or 50% discount vouchers. Attorneys’ fees were capped at $1,485,000. The final approval hearing was set for August 2013 and the claims deadline passed the following month.
Two more consumer suits followed in federal court. Parker v. MonaVie, Inc. was filed in November 2012, and Pontrelli v. MonaVie, Inc. was filed in August 2013 in the District of New Jersey. Both alleged the company used its multilevel marketing structure to push false and misleading claims about the juice’s health benefits, including misleading use of the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) scale and exaggerated claims about antioxidant content and immune support.
In August 2014, the federal judge in Pontrelli denied MonaVie’s motion to dismiss and let the case move forward. The complaint alleged MonaVie operated as a pyramid scheme, required distributors to pay initial fees before they could sell juice, and marketed a 25-ounce bottle at an “overpriced value of $45.” The plaintiff called the purported health benefits “purely hypothetical, unsubstantiated and, quite frankly, bogus,” and cited the company’s own lead scientist as having described the product as “expensive flavored water.”
Lead and Arsenic Allegations
A separate class action, Buhler et al. v. Mona Vie, Inc., was filed in May 2014 in the Southern District of Florida by plaintiffs Diane Buhler and Eric Lieberman. It went further than the earlier suits, alleging not only unsubstantiated health claims but that the juices contained “significantly high levels” of lead and arsenic that the company failed to disclose.
The products named in the complaint included MonaVie Active, Essential, Pulse, Kosher, (M)mun, and Mx. According to the lawsuit, consumers who joined an auto-shipment program starting in 2011 experienced side effects including severe acne, insomnia, anxiety, depression, headaches, and dizziness. One plaintiff’s physician reportedly found arsenic levels in the plaintiff’s system ten times higher than those of a typical adult.
The case was dismissed with prejudice in February 2015 after a settlement. The terms were not publicly disclosed.
The FDA Warning That Preceded the Lawsuits
In 2007, the FDA issued a warning letter stating that MonaVie’s marketing claims for products including MonaVie Original, Active, Combo, and Gel violated the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The agency found the company was effectively promoting its juices as treatments for disease, including claims that the products could lower harmful cholesterol and relieve joint and muscle pain and inflammation, which would require the products to be classified and approved as drugs. The letter foreshadowed the consumer suits that followed.
Amway’s Distributor-Raiding Suit
In March 2008, Amway filed suit in federal court in Utah against MonaVie and several former top-level distributors, alleging MonaVie lured away more than 20,000 Amway distributors by misleading them about potential earnings. Amway also claimed MonaVie used stolen distributor lists to slot defecting distributors into the same “downline” positions they had held at Amway, and that MonaVie falsely advertised the juice’s health benefits while failing to disclose that water was the primary ingredient.
MonaVie countered that Amway harassed and intimidated distributors affiliated with a group called TEAM, that Amway’s contracts unlawfully restricted distributors from joining competing MLM companies, and that Amway itself operated as a pyramid scheme. Federal Judge Bruce Jenkins presided. In November 2010, the companies filed a joint statement confirming a confidential settlement in which each side agreed to bear its own costs.
The $19.8 Million ESOP Settlement
The most concrete recovery came from MonaVie’s own employees. In 2010, the company established an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, selling shares to the ESOP at a valuation of $186 million. By January 2014, those shares were worth $774,000, a decline of more than 99 percent.
The class action, Jessop v. Larsen, filed in the District of Utah, alleged that ESOP trustee Bankers Trust Co. of South Dakota caused the plan to overpay for MonaVie stock during its formation. The $19.8 million settlement included $16 million from Bankers Trust and $3.8 million from individual defendants. Preliminary approval was sought in November 2016, and the settlement required Department of Labor sign-off because the DOL had filed its own separate suit challenging the same transaction.
By August 2018, $15,789,602 had been distributed to 398 former employees, averaging over $39,000 per participant. Class members had the option to take their share on a tax-deferred basis through an IRA.
Other Suits Against MonaVie
Several additional cases rounded out the litigation record.
In May 2008, San Diego-based Imagenetix Inc. filed a federal suit in the Southern District of California seeking $2.75 billion in damages. Imagenetix held the patent for the inflammation therapy Celadrin and accused MonaVie of trademark infringement, false advertising, and unfair competition for falsely claiming its juice contained Celadrin. The damages figure included $750 million in estimated damages, which the plaintiff sought to triple, plus $500 million in punitive damages. Imagenetix voluntarily dismissed the case on May 16, 2008, days after filing.
In August 2009, Harpo Inc. filed roughly 50 lawsuits against companies using the names and images of Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Oz to promote açaí products. MonaVie was among the defendants. Its counsel argued the unauthorized use was carried out by independent distributors, not the company. A settlement in early May 2010 had MonaVie agree to stop using the celebrities’ images and impose penalties on distributors who used unauthorized endorsements, including docking commissions. No liability was admitted and financial terms were confidential.
Litigation also continued after the company changed hands. Starr Indemnity and Liability Company, which had insured MonaVie, filed a declaratory judgment action seeking a ruling that it had no duty to cover the Parker and Pontrelli class actions. In March 2019, the District of Utah granted Starr summary judgment, finding those claims related to conduct alleged in the earlier 2010 Oliver case, of which MonaVie had notice before Starr’s policies took effect. The court ordered MonaVie to repay Starr for defense costs already advanced.
What Happened to MonaVie
Founder Dallin Larsen retired in July 2014, having been replaced as CEO by Mauricio Bellora in January 2013. The company defaulted on a $182 million note held by TSG-MV Financing LLC, and the board moved toward a “strict foreclosure” that would transfer substantially all of MonaVie’s assets to the note’s purchaser.
That purchaser was Jeunesse Global LLC, a Florida-based MLM company. In March 2015, Jeunesse bought the $182 million note and announced what it called a “strategic acquisition” of MonaVie and its subsidiary brand, mynt. The deal wiped out all shareholder value. Bankers Trust, as ESOP trustee, sought a temporary restraining order in federal court to halt the foreclosure, arguing proper procedures had not been followed. Jeunesse CEO Scott Lewis framed the acquisition as a step toward a $1 billion sales goal; Bellora described MonaVie as having been “right-sized” over the preceding two years.