Ultimate Nutrition Files Civil Suit

FARMINGTON, Conn.—Ultimate Nutrition filed a civil lawsuit in the Connecticut Superior Court seeking to recover damages stemming from a product recall situation. The defendants, Diamond Drinks Inc., Suscon Inc., MetaBEV Inc., Anthony Cenimo Jr. and John Sbordone, were involved in the development and manufacturing of a protein shake product for Ultimate Nutrition. According to the complaint, the defendants developed a product with assurances of stability and a one-year shelf life; Ultimate Nutrition claims when numerous bottles of the product changed color and developed a bitter flavor, it requested the defendants recall the product, fix the defect and rerun the batch. Ultimate Nutrition said it never heard back from the defendants and was forced to withdraw the product from the market itself.

Brian Rubino, vice president, Ultimate Nutrition, said in a statement: “If Diamond Drinks and the other defendants performed as promised, with the level of expertise that they claimed to have, and actually followed good manufacturing practices, this type of failure should never have happened. Their negligence caused the product line to fail and hurt our reputation. We are seeking damages for the cost of manufacture, investment in advertising and marketing, and loss of good will and reputation in the industry.”

INSIDER left a message with Williamsport, Pa.-based Diamond Drinks asking for comment. When contacted by INSIDER, Sbordone, the president of Stamford, Conn.-based MetaBEV, said he could not comment on pending litigation, though he anticipates the situation will be resolved quickly.