Rusty Licensee Wins Restraining Order
C&C Companies, the Irvine, Calif.–based company that has the license to make Rusty apparel in the United States, has been tussling with the San Diego surf brand since last December. But the battle seems to be intensifying.
The trouble started in June 2006, when Vegas Enterprises— C&C’s Australian sublicense and a manufacturer—acquired 52 percent of Rusty from the label’s founder, Russell Preisendorfer. The formal name of Rusty is Rhellip;And Everything Else. C&C California owns 42 percent of Rusty.
In a lawsuit filed Dec. 14 in Orange County Superior Court, C&C accused the new majority owners of Rhellip;And Everything Else of breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty because of various expenses the Australians incurred that were allegedly co-mingled with C&C’s expenses.
Then on May 10, executives at Vegas Enterprises announced that C&C’s 40-year licensing agreement had been terminated.
In a press release, the Australian majority owners said the Holiday and Spring collections were being prepared “with an exciting new direction by Rhellip;And Everything Else.” Preisendorfer was quoted as saying: “The new direction is a match made in heaven—imagine a surf company run by surfers.”
C&C wasn’t too pleased by the abrupt end to its long-time business relationship. Going to court again, they got an Orange County Superior Court judge on May 17 to grant them a temporary restraining order against Vegas and Rhellip;And Everything Else, preventing the Australians from continuing to claim that C&C’s license with Rusty is over.
A hearing on C&C’s motion for a preliminary injunction is set for June 6.
“We look forward to our day in court. We are confident that the court will disallow the attempt to take over our Rusty business that we have maintained over the past 19 years,” said Dac Clark, president of C&C, in a statement.
Executives at Vegas and Rhellip;And Everything Else could not be reached for comment.—Erin Barajas
