LOS ANGELES – A Carson company alleges it will be damaged if a direct competitor is permitted to be a distributor of products it also sells.
Salon Services and Supplies Inc. filed a complaint on March 3 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Dermalogica LLC alleging that the franchisor violated the California Franchise Investment Protection Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that it has been the exclusive distributor of the defendant's skincare products in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana since 1993. It alleges the defendant has threatened to enter in or has entered into an agreement with a third-party to distribute the defendant's products in the plaintiff's territory. The plaintiff holds Dermalogica LLC responsible because the defendant allegedly breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing by considering entering into an agreement with plaintiff's direct competitor for distribution of its products in plaintiff's territory.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks injunctive relief enjoining defendant from violating the exclusive distribution agreement, award of monetary damages, costs and attorneys’ fees and such other just and appropriate relief. It is represented by Kathy Bazoian Phelps of Diamond McCarthy LLP in Los Angeles and Paul Richard Brown of Kurt Tuttle Campbell in Seattle.
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Western Division Case number 2:17-cv-01731