The beef between Wakaya Perfection and Youngevity dates back to 2016.

Our reporting initially covered Youngevity’s lawsuit in California, which alleged Wakaya Perfection was founded on stealing business from Youngevity.

Wakaya Perfection filed their own lawsuit in Utah, over breach of contract and “tortious behavior”.

Wakaya Perfection’s lawsuit was subsequently moved to federal court, wherein Youngevity filed for dismissal.

In November 2017 the dismissal was granted, requiring Wakaya Perfection to settle the dispute via arbitration.

Wakaya Perfection filed an appeal, a decision on which was finally made last month.

As per  the December 11th appeal order, the arbitration decision is reversed and Wakaya Perfection’s case is referred back to federal court.

The arbitration decision was reversed on the grounds it was made using the Colorado River test.

The appeals court ruled the Colorado River test was inapplicable in Wakaya Perfection’s case.

With respect to arbitration, the appeals court acknowledged Wakaya Perfection was not a party to Youngevity’s cited arbitration agreements.

Thus, as per case law, it is up to the District Court to decide whether Wakaya Perfection should be subject to arbitration.

If the district court again considers whether Wakaya’s claims are arbitrable, the court should decide this issue.

In response to the appeal Yougevity had filed for sanctions against Wakaya Perfection.

The appeals court denied Youngevity’s motion, on the grounds Wakaya Perfection’s appeal was not frivolous, nor had the company acted in bad faith.

Since the granting of Wakaya Perfection’s appeal, the Wakaya Perfection plaintiffs have requested a Status Conference be held.

The Youngevity defendants meanwhile have filed a motion to stay proceedings, or in the alternative a dismissal.

Stay tuned…