Evig, LLC v. Fantasy, Inc.

CourtDistrict Court, D. Nevada
DecidedMarch 28, 2025
Docket2:24-cv-00349
StatusUnknown

This text of Evig, LLC v. Fantasy, Inc. (Evig, LLC v. Fantasy, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Nevada primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Evig, LLC v. Fantasy, Inc., (D. Nev. 2025).

Opinion

1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

2 DISTRICT OF NEVADA

3 EVIG, LLC, 4 Plaintiff, Case No.: 2:24-cv-00349-GMN-DJA 5 vs. ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO 6 DISMISS FANTASY, INC., 7

Defendant. 8 9 10 Pending before the Court is the Motion to Dismiss, (ECF No. 24), filed by Defendant 11 Fantasy, Inc. dba Superfood MD, LLC. Plaintiff Evig, LLC, filed a Response, (ECF No. 25), to 12 which Defendant filed a Reply, (ECF No. 26). Defendant subsequently filed a Motion for 13 Leave to Submit Supplemental Authority to support its Motion to Dismiss, (ECF No. 30). For 14 the reasons discussed below, the Court GRANTS Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, GRANTS 15 Defendant’s Motion for Leave,1 and gives Plaintiff leave to amend. 16 17 18

19 1 Defendant moves to file supplemental authority consisting of an order in another case in this district, EVIG, 20 LLC v. New Relief, LLC. This case concerns an almost identical matter involving the same Plaintiff and relating to the same issues as raised by Defendant in the instant Motion to Dismiss. The court in that case granted a 21 motion to dismiss, with prejudice, against Plaintiff and found that: (1) the “Plaintiff’s trade dress is functional and, thus, unprotected[];” (2) because there was no protectable trade dress, the defendant’s conduct amounted to 22 “normal participation in the free market,” insufficient to sustain an intentional interference with prospective economic advantage claim; (3) the Nevada Deceptive Trade Practices Act (“NDTPA”) sections 3 and 4 did not 23 apply; and (4) the lack of protectable trade dress is fatal to the dilution claim. See generally EVIG, LLC v. New Relief, LLC, No. 2:24-cv-00065-RFB-BNW, 2024 WL 4349310 (D. Nev. Sept. 29, 2024). The court did not 24 issue this ruling until after the briefing closed on Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss in this case. “Good cause may exist when the proffered supplemental authority controls the outcome of the litigation, or when the proffered 25 supplemental authority is precedential, or particularly persuasive or helpful.” Alps Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Kalicki Collier, LLP, 526 F. Supp. 3d 805, 812 (D. Nev. 2021). Because of the similar legal issues in that case, the Court finds the supplemental authority to be helpful and GRANTS Defendant’s Motion for Leave. 1 I. BACKGROUND 2 This case arises out of Defendant’s alleged infringement of Plaintiff’s “Balance of 3 Nature” trade dress. (See generally Second Am. Compl. (“SAC”), ECF No. 22). Plaintiff has 4 sold fruit and vegetable supplements using the same trade dress for more than 20 years, most 5 recently under the trademark “Balance of Nature.” (Id. ⁋⁋ 12, 13, 15). Defendant also sells fruit 6 and vegetable supplements using trade dress that Plaintiff alleges is “obviously and 7 substantially the same . . . as Plaintiff’s products.” (Id. ⁋ 29). Plaintiff asserts causes of action 8 for (1) false association; (2) federal trade dress infringement; (3) unfair competition; (4) 9 intentional interference with prospective economic advantage (“IIPEA”); (5) Lanham Act trade 10 dress violations; (5) deceptive trade practices; (6) dilution; and (7) unjust enrichment. 11 Defendant now moves to dismiss Plaintiff’s SAC. (Mot. Dismiss (“MTD”), ECF No. 24). 12 II. LEGAL STANDARD 13 Dismissal is appropriate under Rule 12(b)(6) where a pleader fails to state a claim upon

14 which relief can be granted. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6); Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 15 555 (2007). A pleading must give fair notice of a legally cognizable claim and the grounds on 16 which it rests, and although a court must take all factual allegations as true, legal conclusions 17 couched as factual allegations are insufficient. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. Accordingly, Rule 18 12(b)(6) requires “more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements 19 of a cause of action will not do.” Id. “To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain 20 sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its 21 face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570). “A 22 claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to 23 draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. This 24 standard “asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.” Id. 25 1 If the court grants a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, leave to amend should 2 be granted unless it is clear that the deficiencies of the complaint cannot be cured by 3 amendment. DeSoto v. Yellow Freight Sys., Inc., 957 F.2d 655, 658 (9th Cir. 1992). Pursuant 4 to Rule 15(a), the court should “freely” give leave to amend “when justice so requires,” and in 5 the absence of a reason such as “undue delay, bad faith or dilatory motive on the part of the 6 movant, repeated failure to cure deficiencies by amendments previously allowed, undue 7 prejudice to the opposing party by virtue of allowance of the amendment, futility of 8 amendment, etc.” Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182 (1962). 9 III. DISCUSSION 10 Defendant moves to dismiss Plaintiff’s causes of action for failure to state a claim. (See 11 generally MTD). Defendant further moves to supplement its original Motion to assert newly 12 decided authority that precludes an issue essential to establishing each of Plaintiff’s claims. 13 (See generally Mot. Leave, ECF No. 30). The Court addresses each of Defendant’s arguments

14 in turn. 15 A. Issue Preclusion 16 Plaintiff alleges claims that relate to the alleged trade dress infringement, and Defendant 17 argues that the issue of functionality, which necessarily implicates Plaintiff’s claims, is 18 precluded. (Mot. Leave 3:10–12). Under Nevada law, issue preclusion applies if: (1) the issue 19 in the two proceedings is identical; (2) the prior decision was a final ruling on the merits; (3) 20 the party against whom the judgment is asserted was a party or in privity with a party to the 21 prior litigation; and (4) the issue was actually and necessarily litigated. Five Star Capital Corp. 22 v. Ruby, 194 P.3d 709, 713 (Nev. 2008). 23 Defendant supplements its Motion to Dismiss with a final order filed in another case in 24 this district after Defendant filed its Motion to Dismiss, which considered and decided trade 25 dress infringement claims asserted against a different defendant but about Plaintiff’s same 1 Balance of Nature product. (Mot. Leave 2:3–3:5) (citing EVIG, LLC v. New Relief, LLC, No. 2 2:24-cv-00065-RFB-BNW, 2024 WL 4349310, at *1 (D. Nev. Sept. 29, 2024)). Defendant 3 contends that ruling addressed the enforceability of Plaintiff’s trade dress, and therefore 4 precludes further consideration of Plaintiff’s current trade dress infringement claims. (Reply 5 Mot. Leave 3:9–12, ECF No. 35). The Court agrees that because the same issue of 6 functionality regarding Plaintiff’s trade dress has already been decided by another court, the 7 issue is precluded for the reasons discussed below. 8 First, the issue in the two proceedings is identical. In EVIG, LLC v. New Relief, (EVIG 9 I), the court reviewed Plaintiff’s claim that its product, Balance of Nature supplements, had 10 distinctive and non-functional trade dress. 2024 WL 4349310, at *3. In the present action, 11 Plaintiff makes the same claims concerning its same product. (SAC ¶¶ 69, 84).

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