Michael Rutherford sues Pruvit & Underwood… again.

Michael Rutherford is suing Pruvit and CEO Brian Underwood again, barely a year after they thought they had settled their differences.

The lawsuit, filed June 20th in Texas, marks the third legal battle between the former Master Distributor and his ex-company. This time, Rutherford claims Underwood broke their settlement agreement almost immediately after signing it.

Here's the messy history: In June 2023, Rutherford sued Pruvit, saying his commissions got tanked and suspended while Underwood allegedly pocketed his income. They settled in August 2023 for an undisclosed amount. Then in April 2024, Pruvit turned around and sued Rutherford and his associate Keisha O'Neal, claiming they violated the settlement by recruiting people into a competing venture. Instead of fighting that case, Rutherford filed his own lawsuit first.

The settlement agreement was straightforward on paper. Rutherford couldn't touch Pruvit anymore. But Pruvit had to keep paying him. The deal guaranteed him 100 percent of his distributor commissions, capped at $100,000 a month. Pruvit also promised not to reallocate anyone in Rutherford's downline to other distributors.

There was also a social media clause. Rutherford and O'Neal had to remove any posts badmouthing Pruvit or Underwood. They had to unfriend and remove any Pruvit promoters they hadn't personally recruited. If anyone asked to be removed from their social media, they had to comply.

It was the kind of agreement designed to give both sides clean separation. It didn't last.

According to Rutherford's lawsuit, Underwood started sabotaging the deal immediately. The complaint alleges that right after signing, Underwood began actively recruiting distributors from Rutherford's downline to join a competing MLM called Frequence. This directly violated the settlement's promise not to reallocate anyone in Rutherford's network.

By pulling distributors away, Underwood would shrink Rutherford's commission base. Fewer people under Rutherford meant fewer sales to track back to him. It's a backdoor way to kill the guaranteed payments without officially cutting them off.

Rutherford says he got hit with pending motions to dismiss in Pruvit's April lawsuit, plus a motion seeking emergency relief. Rather than wait for those to play out, he decided to file his own lawsuit naming both Pruvit and Underwood as defendants.

The case hinges on whether Underwood deliberately torpedoed the settlement arrangement. If Rutherford can prove Underwood recruited his distributors to Frequence right after signing, he has a solid breach of contract claim. The $100,000 monthly cap means this fight is potentially worth millions over time.

What started as a commission dispute has now spiraled into a three-round legal war between a former distributor and the company he once helped build. The settlement that was supposed to end the conflict instead became just another battle line.

🤖 Quick Answer

Who is Michael Rutherford and why is he involved in legal disputes with Pruvit?

What are the main allegations in Rutherford's latest lawsuit filed in June 2024?
Rutherford alleges that CEO Brian Underwood violated their settlement agreement almost immediately after signing it in August 2023, claiming Underwood improperly withheld his commissions and redirected his income while serving as Master Distributor.

What was the previous settlement between Rutherford and Pruvit in 2023?
In August 2023, Rutherford and Pruvit resolved their initial

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