Amway Corp. contends it is being unfairly blamed for rumors linking Procter & Gamble Co. to devil worship.
P&G on Tuesday said it had added Amway and five Amway distributors to a lawsuit concerning the rumors.Amway independent distributor Randy Haugen was the sole defendant named in the original lawsuit filed August in U.S. District Court at Salt Lake City.
The lawsuit accused Haugen of using Amway's voice mail system to spread the rumors to other Amway distributors. It seeks a minimum of $50,000 in damages. The court will decide the exact amount.
P&G charges that Amway, which competes with P&G in some product categories, is responsible for its distributors' conduct and has failed to stop them from spreading the rumors.
The amended lawsuit claimed the distributors have spread the satanism rumor to encourage consumers not to buy P&G products, said James Johnson, P&G's general counsel and senior vice president.
Amway, from its headquarters in Ada, Mich., said Tuesday it is being unfairly blamed by P&G. Amway said that Haugen has issued a retraction of the rumor and that it has been cooperative in response to P&G's lawsuit.
Amway said it doesn't condone the rumor mongering and that P&G's action appears aimed at discrediting a competitor.
The rumors typically claim that P&G's president spoke in support of Satanism on a nationally televised talk show and that the company's moon-and-stars trademark is a satanic symbol.
No one from P&G has ever discussed Satanism on a talk show, the Cincinnati-based consumer products company said.
P&G said its trademark dates back to the mid-1800s, when a man in the moon was a popular design. The 13 stars in the design honor the 13 original colonies.
P&G has answered about 200,000 calls and letters about the rumors during the past 15 years. Calls and letters peaked in 1982, 1985, 1990 and this year.