Young Living Appeals Recent Court Ruling in doTERRA

doTERRA's defense focused on technicalities and character assassination to obscure the facts of its creation

LEHI, Utah, July 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- As the originator and ongoing leader of the modern-day essential oil movement, Young Living knows that innovation will always be followed by imitation. We know that success will always breed envy. We have never and will never hesitate to protect our members, our company, our quality, and our reputation.

Earlier this week, the court in the case against doTERRA ruled that Young Living is to pay a portion of legal fees to the defendants' attorneys as part of a pretrial summary judgment ruling. We deeply respect the judicial process but had hoped for a different outcome, as many key claims and pieces of evidence were not allowed to be presented at trial due to legal technicalities such as the statute of limitations ruling and other rulings made by the court. In fact, this ruling did not address the merits of Young Living's claims but focused on alleged reasons why Young Living waited to present one of its claims.

These technicalities resulted in Young Living never being able to tell the full story of doTERRA's true formation. As alleged in the complaint, this included breaches of non-solicit and confidentiality agreements by members of the then-Young Living executive team and our CEO Mary Young's personal assistant. 

The defendants in the case chose to defend themselves and their origins not by allowing the complete story to be told but by disparaging Young Living and through attempted character assassinations of D. Gary and Mary Young. The choice to make personal attacks at trial was a tactic used to deliberately deflect the ultimate focus of the case: the breaches of the defendants' promises as alleged in the original lawsuit. 

Contrary to the misstatements in doTERRA's recent press release, the judge and jury did not find that doTERRA and its executives had done nothing wrong. Indeed, in prior court rulings, the court stated: "In short, as fully detailed in the Court's earlier ruling on this issue, there are some admissions of use of confidential information."  (February 17, 2016, Court Order at 3.)  In other words, the doTERRA defendants admitted they used Young Living's confidential information, but technical rulings precluded the jury from hearing that and other evidence supporting Young Living's claims.  Moreover, the judge's recent ruling concerned only one of many claims asserted in the case—not the entire case, as doTERRA falsely suggests. In fact, the court specifically stated: "Defendants have presented no argument that Young Living's entire lawsuit was brought in bad faith."  (July 10, 2018, Court Order at 32.)

Young Living appealed the verdict of the case, as we fervently desire the full truth of our story—and doTERRA's—to still be told.

Our late founder D. Gary Young, the pioneer of the modern day essential oil movement, had his heart broken by the betrayal of those he trusted most to run his company. These former employees were very close to Gary and Mary and had access to not only Gary's life's work but also to his company's proprietary information. They created a new essential oil company in a few short months, using knowledge Gary had gained over a lifetime. They chose to locate this company just miles down the road from Young Living's headquarters. Gary, and the millions of Young Living members who shared his vision and integrity—and trusted these executives—deserved better.

As we know, Gary was a cowboy, a maverick, a farmer, and a man who deeply loved horses and nature. He came from humble circumstances and knew the meaning of hard work. He also had an unquestionable love for God and all people across the earth, regardless of where they came from, which guided and grounded him throughout his life.

The amount of anguish and pain the events of the genesis of doTERRA caused Gary makes this week's decision even more disappointing in light of his recent passing. Instead of honoring Gary and his life's work, from which they greatly benefited, they continued litigating, with PR and money as their objectives.

This case was never about money for Young Living. It was about right and wrong and setting the record straight. Knowing that legal technicalities and character assassinations of our late founder prevented the truth from being fully heard was very disappointing. We are buoyed, however, in knowing that we know the truth, and so do they. 

As was the case with the 2017 trial verdict, today's ruling will have no negative impact on our business and will not stop our incredible momentum. The future is brighter than ever for Young Living, with over 5.6 million members since our founding nearly 25 years ago, more than 3,000 global employees, 18 corporate and partner farms around the world, 15 offices operating in 25 markets, and products shipping to well over 100 countries. We offer more than 220 pure essential oil singles and blends, along with more than 600 individual products.

We will always honor Gary's legacy by remaining steadfastly focused on accomplishing his vision of sharing Young Living essential oils with every home in the world. We will continue to provide the best possible products and member experiences in this industry.

We will never deviate from the path of originality, integrity, authenticity, and honest work that he set for us. We owe that to Gary, to our members, and to the billions of people around the world soon to experience the life-changing power of Young Living essential oils and oil-infused products.

About Young Living Essential Oils
Young Living Essential Oils, LC, based in Lehi, Utah, is the world leader in essential oils and distributor of the highest quality of oil-infused products. As stewards of the earth and its people, Young Living paves the way for every essential oil company with its Seed to Seal^® standard and its Sourcing, Science, and Standards pillars. These guiding principles protect the planet and ensure that customers can feel good about using Young Living products for themselves, their families, and in their homes. Young Living's products contain essential oils that all come from corporate-owned or partner farms as well as Seed to Seal-certified suppliers, support a healthy lifestyle, and continue to provide opportunities for over 5 million members to achieve their goals and aspirations by aligning their work with their values and passions. For more information, visit YoungLiving.com, follow @younglivingeo on Twitter, or like us on Facebook.

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