The fur is flying in this lawsuit.
Cool Pet Stuff LLC of Jonesboro, which sells pet jerseys and pet merchandise, is suing a manufacturer of sports licensed pet products, Pets First Inc. of Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Cool Pet accused Pets First, which operates as Pets First of New Jersey Inc., of practicing “improper and deceptive practices designed to prevent Cool Pet from selling its inventory of Pets First products,” according to its lawsuit filed in December.
Cool Pet began selling Pets First’s pet clothing and accessories in 2010, according to the lawsuit filed by John Holleman and Tim Steadman of the law firm Holleman & Associates of Little Rock.
The two companies entered into a distributor agreement in May 2017, the suit said. And between October 2017 and September 2018, Cool Pet sold nearly $450,000 of Pets First’s items, and that didn’t include shipping and handling charges.
After Cool Pet bought a “substantial amount” of Pets First’s items, Pets First wanted the marketplace for itself and tried to hurt the competition, the lawsuit said.
In March 2020, Pets First changed its online selling policy and its goods could no longer be sold on Amazon. Cool Pet said if it couldn’t sell Pets First items on Amazon, Pets First needed to buy back its inventory.
Pets First refused, the lawsuit said. And even though Cool Pet hasn’t bought any items from Pets First since February 2020, it still had $270,000 worth of items in its inventory.
Cool Pet is seeking an unspecified amount of money for damages that includes the repurchase of the inventory and lost profits.
Pets First has asked a federal judge to dismiss the case. “Cool Pet offers no explanation as to why they cannot simply sell the remaining product in a physical storefront in Arkansas, in their online website, or to other distributors who follow these rules,” Pets First said in its court filing in U.S. District Court in Jonesboro.
Pets First is being represented by attorneys Barrett Moore and Alexandra Benton of Blair & Stroud of Batesville. Benton told Whispers it’s the firm’s policy not to comment on active litigation.
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