A company that makes nutritional supplements for pets claims that two Rockland County businesses are reselling its products on Amazon without its permission.
Nutramax Laboratories Inc. of Lancaster, South Carolina accused Fisch Enterprises Inc., Spring Valley, and O&S Deals Inc., Monsey, of trademark infringement, in a complaint filed on Oct. 9 in U.S. District Court in White Plains.
“Consumers are … misled to believe that Nutramax products sold by the defendants are the same as the goods Nutramax sells online,” the complaint states, “when in fact they are materially different.”
Nutramax makes products such as Dasuquin, a joint supplement for treating cartilage in dogs and cats. The chewable tablets are sold by veterinarians, stores and online merchants approved by Nutramax.
Fisch Enterprises is operated by Samuel Fisch, of Monsey, and O&S Deals is directed by Ozer Senderowitz, of Monsey, according to the complaint, and they have been selling Dasuquin for dogs.
Nutramax has no deals with the Rockland businesses to sell its supplements, the complaint states, and no authorized resellers have been cleared to sell the products to them.
The problem, Nutramax explains, is quality control. Authorized distributors agree to employ people who are knowledgeable about the products, to ensure that customers get good service before and after pet owners buy the supplements. They also agree to store the products in cool, dry places to maintain product quality.
Pet owners who trust Nutramax and Amazon have no reason to suspect that the supplements sold on Amazon are different from the supplements purchased directly from authorized resellers, the complaint states.
Nutramax says it told the Rockland companies several times that they were not allowed to resell the supplements, but they continued to peddle the products to pet lovers.
Unauthorized sales confuse buyers as to the true source of the supplement, according to the complaint, unjustly enriches the defendants, and interferes with Nutramax’s business with resellers.
The company is asking the court to stop Fisch Enterprises and O&S Deals from selling Dasuquin, make them return or destroy Nutramax’s products, and order them to pay up to three times the amount of actual monetary damages.
Attempts to find contact information for Ozer Senderowitz, to ask for his side of the story, were unsuccessful.
A message sent to an email address linked to the same postal address used by Fisch Enterprises in Spring Valley was answered: “Sorry… different Samuel fisch.”
