Top earner Jay Bennett has secured a preliminary injunction against Isagenix.

The injunction was granted on July 17th, following filings from the respective parties.

Bennett (right) filed suit last month, after Isagenix terminated his five income positions.

In a nutshell, Bennett claims he was was terminated without cause – in violation of the Isagenix Policies and Procedures he agreed to in 2002 and 2016.

Isagenix claims Bennett agreed to a “no-cause termination provision” when he renewed his contract in 2017.

In handing down the injunction, the court cited Ninth Circuit precedent;

The Ninth Circuit has held, however, that one party to a contract cannot make a binding change to the contract without notifying the opposing party of the change and obtaining its assent.

This is true even if the contract provides that one side may change the contract from time to time.

Isagenix agreed at the preliminary injunction hearing that the current record contains no communication from Isagenix alerting Bennett to the change in the renewal provisions.

As a result, the Court concludes that Bennett (is) likely to succeed in showing that the change is not binding on (him), that (his) contracts could be terminated only for cause, and that non-renewal without cause therefore was a breach.

The court went on to determine that, absent a preliminary injunction, Bennett

would suffer substantial consequential damages if their contracts are terminated, totaling millions of dollars.

The granted injunction requires Isagenix to restore Bennett’s access to his five distributor accounts. Isagenix is also prohibited from tampering with Bennett’s downline structure.

Pending conclusion of Bennett’s lawsuit, Isagenix was additionally ordered to post a $1,500,000 bond.

Isagenix has signalled to the court it intends to try and force arbitration. To that end the company was ordered to file a motion to compel arbitration by July 28th.

 

Update 15th August 2023 – Bennett and Isagenix have entered arbitration as per an agreed stipulation.

Isagenix has also filed an appeal against the injunction granted to Bennett.