When the product is "juice" and the sales method is multi-level-marketing, thousands of independent distributor couples have gotten into power wars over paying the mortgage or buying acai berry juice.

A great deal of sales men and women have signed contracts forcing them to have the price of 4, sometimes 8 bottles of juice taken out of their checking account monthly whether they want the juice that month or not.

In order to be a Monavie sales person, one is obliged to sell a case (perhaps two) of Monavie (acai berry) juice on a monthly basis. The company is experiencing a great deal of loss both in sales figures as well as in the loss of independent distributors because the tight economy does not support having to buy several cases of juice when you can't pay routine groceries to feed the family or pay for the utilities to keep them warm.

One of the "diamond" level sales men, Joe Licciardi felt he met the company's expectations and was expecting his stellar paycheck. Monavie however, using a vaguely worded contract that gave the company what everyone agrees was extraordinary wiggle room, made it more and more difficult for the sales force to meet its "obligatory" quota.

The sales force allege that the multi-page contract rules are often changed in a way that mostly favors the juice company. No matter how hard Licciardi worked, the closer he got to the goal, the rules kept changing just enough to make the goal unattainable.

Licciardi left Monavie, joined another MLM and proceeded to post the new business on his Facebook page. After a 4 1/2 hour hearing, U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups ruled that Monavie had failed to prove Licciardi had violated Monavie's policies.

Furthermore, the judge ruled that the contract is much too vague and thus unenforceable. The judge also refused to order Licciardi to stop posting his new business (Momentis) on Facebook. Monavie appears to want to rule its independent distributors’ lives while they are selling Monavie and long after they leave the company as well.

The stunning legal setback prompted Monavie to quickly and quietly withdraw the subsequent lawsuit it had filed against Licciardi. Monavie's aggressive move backfired because independent distributors felt Monavie was behaving like a bully to one of its best sales men.

The distributors quickly surmised that if Monavie would treat Licciardi in such an aggressive manner, after offering him as a success model in their marketing materials that Monavie would easily turn on them as well. As a very quick response, distributors left the company in droves.

Monavie has long practiced ruling its independent sales force with an iron fist and strongly forcing them to meet high sales demands using long worded contracts with intimidating but unenforceable verbiage. The company heads also suggest to their individual distributors that if they are not selling "enough" that there is obviously some sort of shortcoming or defect in the person's character or that they suffer from a lack of will power. The company totally disregards the current economy.

On the same day that Monavie filed suit against Licciardi, it also filed suit against Todd and Stephanie Smith of Middleburg, Florida who have since joined EvolvHealth.

Several Black Diamond Distributors (the upper level exemplary distributors) have abandoned Monavie because they cannot justify buying juice over buying groceries and paying the light bill.

The family problems are sprouting out throughout the country in thousands of Monavie distributors homes when one spouse writes a check to the mortgage lender or landlord but Monavie has already removed the amount it charges for the cases of Monavie "plus" all the training materials they distribute (which the sales force is obliged to purchase) from the checking account prompting the mortgage / rent check to bounce.

Monavie couples have been separating and subsequently divorcing when one spouse insists on remaining with Monavie and continues to allow the company access to the family checking account while the other wishes to stop selling the "magic" juice.

In the past, Independent distributors would claim the juice cured everything from heart disease to diabetes and dandruff. One claim stated that Monavie even cured Lyme disease which prompted hundreds of people to turn the YouTube video in to the FDA and the FCC.

Monavie declined to provide a statement as of this writing but we have left an open invitation for Monavie to respond at any time via skype at: SYNDICATEDNEWS

This is where the YouTube Video claiming to cure lyme disease used to be: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Yxp23nhSlvg

Music by John McEuen www.JohnMcEuen.com