0.2: Get Dees(z) Nuts(z) off the Shelf

I swear this is a serious legal newsletter.

Matt Margolis

Aug 30, 2023

A Fight Over Dees(z) Nuts(z)

Ok I know how this sounds. But this is an actual, real, lawsuit. Late last week, Dees Nuts sued Mr. Beast’s Feastables over the use of “Deez Nutz.”

(Willy Wonka voice) grab a snack and sit down while I explain how we got here.

Dees is in the business of, well, nuts. Flavored nuts to be more precise. And said nuts are found at (or as the complaint eloquently states, exposed to) a variety of different convenience stores, supermarkets, and events. Prominently featured on the packaging is an older lady with the phrase “Dee’s Nuts” on the front. As you probably guessed, “Dee’s Nuts” is trademarked (and has been since 2012).

Well, unfortunately for Dees, YouTube/Internet mega-celebrity, Mr. Beast brought Deez Nutz to the shelves of retailers. To the surprise of no one, Deez Nutz made big waves and has overwhelmed the market. According to Dees, a search of “dees nuts” on Walmart.com results in mostly results for Mr. Beast, his company, or Deez Nutz. Simply put, Dees claims Deez Nuts infringes on their trademark and creates confusion in the marketplace.

That’s the gist of the lawsuit. Or is it the nuts and bolts? Alright, I’ll stop.

Timeout for Roblox

Talking trash to strangers may not be the only vice our children are learning from video games. According to a new class action lawsuit out of California, two moms allege that the online game platform, Roblox, facilitates a kid casino.

Here’s the alleged hustle: Roblox hosts games created by third parties. The lawsuit claims that several third parties allow children to purchase credits to play games of chance like blackjack using Robux, the platform’s virtual currency (400 Robux = $4.99).

The plaintiffs allege that Roblox could shut down these third parties, but instead, they promote and profit from the scheme by taking a 30% fee on these transactions. In response, Roblox has said that the gambling sites aren’t affiliated with the company and that gambling sites violate the company’s terms of service.

We’re not talkin’ small fry stakes here. According to the complaint, RBXFlip, one of the third parties named in the lawsuit claimed that SEVEN BILLION Robux ($70 million in USD) (you read that right) were wagered on the site in 2021.

Stay tuned to see if this lawsuit ends up bust or blackjack.

Joke Break

3M, 6B

On the heels of a failed attempt at bankruptcy, 3M has agreed to pay $6 billion dollars to resolve 240,000 lawsuits relating to combat earplugs. If you’re not familiar with the ongoing litigation, 3M and its subsidiary, Aearo Technologies, allegedly produced defective earplugs which were ineffective in protecting service members’ ears from the loud sounds associated with military training and combat. Both the federal government and numerous service persons have alleged that those who wore the defective earplugs have gone on to develop hearing loss and/or tinnitus.

While the federal government lawsuit was resolved years ago ($9.1M without an admission of fault), thousands of individual lawsuits remained. To reduce the exposure, 3M tried to place Aearo into bankruptcy (common strategy for mass tort cases, see J&J).

That was a swing and a miss. The Bankruptcy Court found no valid reorganization purpose (effectively “lol, this is bullshit”) and the move failed. With no bankruptcy there was no leverage and the settlement offer sourced to this historic number ($5B in cash, $1B in common stock).

A Few 0.1s

Last month, the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics posted Lawfluencers: Legal Professionalism on Tiktok and Youtube, which provides an interesting analysis of legal influencers and some of the ethical considerations surrounding law content creation.

Are Burger King’s Whoppers too small? Let’s see what we find out in discovery.

In what’s being hailed as Spain’s “Me Too” moment, Spanish prosecutors have launched an investigation into the country’s soccer federation president, Luis Rubiales.