Party Animal Pet Food has filed a lawsuit against co-packer Evanger’s Pet Food claiming they (Party Animal) suffered damages over $20 million. This lawsuit leaks another significant piece of information about Evanger’s; moving assets in an effort to “avoid liability”.
The Party Animal Pet Food v. Evanger’s Pet Food lawsuit was filed on May 5, 2017. Party Animal is suing for breach of contract, breach of warranty and fraud. The suit claims Party Animal Pet Food has suffered damage to its reputation, which “has led to a significant loss of retailers and consumers. Plaintiff’s monetary damages exceed $20,000,000.” Party Animal claims “Defendants (Evanger’s Pet Food and Nutripack LLC) breached their part of the agreement by supplying cans that contained pentobarbital, which is neither fit for pet/animal consumption nor unadulterated.”
The Party Animal lawsuit is filed against Evanger’s Pet Food and their sister company Nutripack. The sister company is included in the suit because…quoting the lawsuit:
Plaintiff (Party Animal) has had an ongoing business relationship with Evanger’s for approximately ten (10) years. In February 2017, Plaintiff started receiving invoices from Nutripack instead of Evanger’s. Plaintiff’s representative spoke to Holly Sher (a representative of both Evanger’s and Nutripack) by phone in early April 2017 and asked why the invoices recently changed to reflect Nutripack and to whom payment should be made. Ms. Sher stated that they were afraid of getting sued because of the recent recalls, and they were taking money out of Evanger’s. She also stated that they did not want to receive any money into Evanger’s and would instead run all operations under Nutripack.
Defendants worked together to defund Evanger’s and move its assets into Nutripack in an effort to avoid liability, as stated by Ms. Sher in April 2017.
To read the full lawsuit complaint, Click Here.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
Association for Truth in Pet Food
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Casey
June 15, 2017 at 3:19 pm
So, does this open up the question of whether or not Party Animal’s ingredients have EVER been organic as claimed? Because they certainly were not for this batch – how long has Evanger’s been using non-organic meats in Party Animal’s supposedly organic foods? And who has been pocketing the difference?
Ms. B Dawson
June 15, 2017 at 5:47 pm
Party Animal’s original response to this was that they supplied Evanger’s with the ingredients for manufacture. The complaint doesn’t seem to address this, so what happened to those ingredients.
Was Party Animal really shipping their own meat or were they relying on Evanger’s to buy the ingredients?
Michael
June 15, 2017 at 6:59 pm
Evangers was in charge of procuring the ingredients from a list approved by Party Animal
Ian
June 15, 2017 at 3:31 pm
It’s always good for petsumers when someone who turns garbage into pet food gets hauled into court. Thanks for staying on the story, Susan.
Reader
June 15, 2017 at 5:15 pm
You would think (and I agree in general). But the only way Evanagers has stayed afloat this long, is through an uncanny knack for evading prosecution. They would settle before ever having that history go on record, through the Court!
Reader
June 15, 2017 at 4:00 pm
You would think some cunning is required for these companies to be as successfully deceitful as they are. But not so in Evangers case. No wonder they’re in so much trouble. Even if what they’re doing (transferring assets) is true, can you imagine a company official admitting it, to Party Animal.
No doubt this conversation will be contested, as in a matter of he said, she said, with Evangers providing some fantastic explanation. More likely they’ll settle out of court anyway. But I don’t think there’s any other PF company to be as just plain stupid, as are they.
Woofielover
June 15, 2017 at 5:45 pm
Oh please! Several years ago I attempted to have a conversation with the owner of Party Animal regarding Evanger’s and their then-current debacle of lies and deceit they were entangled in and he flat said it wasn’t true, they were wonderful, and wouldn’t speak with me any longer! Just because you don’t want something to be true doesn’t mean it’s not. He chose to live in denial at the time because it met his needs. Now he’s paying for that defended relationship. He’s as much to blame, IMO, as who Evanger’s is and was has never been a secret.
Reader
June 15, 2017 at 6:27 pm
Oh well that certainly explains the “he said, she said” conversation so far! They’re lawyering up already. In this era of “Fake News” (no truth telling) it’s now open season on whomever can get away with the most! And will.
Michael
June 15, 2017 at 7:31 pm
i spoke with him for two hours after the Evangers recall, before his product was directly affected. He really did believe that Evangers had his back and defended them over and over. Regardless, what’s most important is that they are changing factories and will hopefully be much more involved in the production of their foods. I for one am willing to forgive and once again purchase their food because I believe they were deceived and have they always had the best of intentions. Besides, I told him over and over that if he’d switch factories I’d support the line. Now I gotta make good on that promise.
Woofielover
June 15, 2017 at 8:28 pm
Sorry, I have no confidence in them for refusing to acknowledge what was public knowledge for years – that being Evanger’s practices and performance, thoroughly documented here in TAPF. I can forgive when it’s genuine but I don’t think it is. He’s going to need a predominance of retailers like you Michael to survive this. And he will survive it. Historically, even the worst of pet foods survive the heat, unfortunately.
Ms. B Dawson
June 15, 2017 at 8:42 pm
Michael –
Since you have a good relationship with Party Animal, could you ask them if they were shipping their own ingredients to Evanger’s or relying on Evanger’s to buy in the supplies and make the formula?
It matters a great deal because Party Animal, as I recall, put out a statement that said they shipped their own organic ingredients to Evanger’s for manufacture on the organic canning line and therefore were safe from the contamination scandal. If that’s the case, why aren’t they suing for stolen property. The contaminated batch of Party Animal wasn’t organic – no way, no how – so what happened to the organic ingredients Party Animal claims they shipped to the plant. I admit that my brain cells aren’t what they used to be, but I’m positive I either posted the link to their statement or copied the statement to this site at the height of the pentobarbital recall.
Sadly, I don’t think Evanger’s is the only one spinning the facts. I strong doubts that Party Animal WAS shipping their own ingredients but rather had Evanger’s buy it in for them. That means Party Animal was scammed along with all those who thought they were purchasing organic pet food. This is why they are suing. But that doesn’t excuse misinformation from Party Animal about how their product is made.
This is just my theory based on some things not adding up, most especially after reading the complete text of the complaint.
Casey
June 16, 2017 at 1:30 am
How could they have even once inspected that plant and figured that everything would just be okay? No, PA is complicit in this to some extent. Whether out of sheer laxidaisical blind trust or something more duplicitous, it doesn’t matter. PA had a responsibility to the consumer to make certain that their product was being manufactured in a safe and wholesome manner.
“We trusted someone else to do that” isn’t going to fly with consumers.
Yeah, Evangers screwed them. But PA knew who they were dealing with from the get go. The fact that they didn’t think it would ever come back to bite them is astonishing.
Reader
June 16, 2017 at 2:59 am
Here’s what you’re referring to, from:
https://truthaboutpetfood.com/enough-denial-surrender/
“B Dawson Mar 06, 2017
Here’s the Party Animal response from my distributor:
February 28, 2017
Dear Valued Distributors and Retailers,
For a decade, Party Animal has taken great pride in producing organic-based products so that pet owners can be confident in feeding their four-legged children.
We are committed to the purity and safety of our products, and want to assure you with total confidence that our products have not been affected by the current recall experienced by another manufacturer. We know that this manufacturer’s recall concerns our valued channel
partners who have come to trust Party Animal to provide the highest quality pet food available.
The premium quality of Party Animal’s entire product line remains unchanged. Party Animal continues to have the most strict manufacturing standards, and produces the highest quality pet foods with the purest ingredients available. Party Animal has established itself as being an organic-based pet food company since its inception 10 years ago.
In order to ensure that our products meet the highest quality standards, our raw materials are sourced independently and stored separately for our recipes. For example, our organic beef is hormone-free and antibiotic-free, and stored a certain distance away from non-organic beef in order to prevent any likelihood of confusion and co-mingling of raw materials. Furthermore, our organic beef does not contain steroids or other growth stimulants, and is sourced from a beef supplier that is certified organic by the USDA – National Organic Program. Additionally, the machinery used to manufacture our full line of products is entirely separate from the machinery used to manufacture the hand-packed food that was associated with the recall in question.
The current manufacturer’s recall was unfortunate, and serves as an example to why we founded Party Animal in the first place. We believe that organic ingredients and strict manufacturing standards are essential to protect pets from harmful chemicals and sub-standard ingredients in their food.
As pet parents ourselves, we wholeheartedly understand that the products you offer your customers have to be consistently superior. Furthermore, transparency with our customers and vendors is a central part of our mission.
Party Animal is a family-owned company, and we are proud to say that it has never been part of a pet food recall. The quality and integrity of our company has always been at the very heart of what we do. Rest assured, all of our products remain healthy, clean and safe.
Should you have any further questions or concerns, please visit our website http://www.partyanimalpetfood.com, or contact us at (855) 727-8926.
Thank you for your continued support of Party Animal.
Dary Abrams
CEO / Co-Founder Party Animal, Inc.
Shawna Abrams President / Co-Founder Party Animal, Inc.
8491 Sunset Blvd. #370, West Hollywood, CA 90069 P: 855-727-8926
http://www.partyanimalpetfood.com”
Reply
Ms. B Dawson
June 16, 2017 at 11:11 am
Thanks “Reader”. The statement says “sourced independently” but doesn’t say that Party Animal actually did the sourcing. Originally I would have interpreted that to mean the were doing the sourcing, but in light of the legal text, it would interpret this as PA trusted Evanger’s to buy in the ingredients.
This would explain the complaint being that Evanger’s did not live up to the contract to provide pet food “fit for animal consumption”.
Christine
June 18, 2017 at 2:07 pm
We are not likely to bring Party Animal back into our store – The day that Susan posted the test results from the independent lab, I spoke to Party Animal for some time – I think I was among the first to speak to them, as the person I spoke to (not a receptionist, but someone who’s higher up) admitted that he hadn’t really heard of pentobarbital, and when I was mentioning the ramifications of its presence, I had to explain what I meant. This was a little disconcerting, but I was glad to send him lots of info on it. Anyway, the purpose for my call was to ask him for a letter that explained the reasons that Cocolicious, being an organic certified food, would be protected against being involved with a pentobarbital issue at Evanger’s. I was really hoping for solid reasons that I could keep the very popular Cocolicious brand in my store. As I understood it, Organic certification requires another level of safety, including the sequestration of ingredients and machinery from other areas of the plant, etc. After we talked for a while about how serious this issue would be for Evanger’s, he remarked that it would probably be a good idea to write a letter like that for all of the stores that carry it, and that he would get it to me by the end of the next business day. I reiterated to him that I needed the letter ASAP as our very savvy customers would be asking questions (and they really were already). I said that if I didn’t get that letter soon, I’d be forced to remove the cans from the shelf – I needed his help to help me defend his product. Days and days went by and I kept trying to reach him with no response. I had to pull it (I was later relieved I had done it of course, but at the time I was really upset). It was a full month after our phone call that Party Animal sent out this letter to retailers (quoted above by “reader”. As an aside, I thought it was awfully strange when they made it sound (to me) like they weren’t even manufacturing at Evanger’s when they said: “We are committed to the purity and safety of our products, and want to assure you with total confidence that our products have not been affected by the current recall experienced by another manufacturer.” Another manufacturer? It is Party Animal’s manufacturer.
Nowhere in the letter does it say that they supplied the meat to Evanger’s themselves, or were in control of the sourcing. I also wonder how there doesn’t seem like there was oversight of the “Organic Certified beef supplier” by Party Animal – shouldn’t they be seeing paperwork with each delivery that proves that certification? Anyway, it was weeks more before we were able to return the cans, and only when our distributor made an exception to their rule. We had what I thought was a strong verbal agreement that if I didn’t get that letter I’d be forced to remove the cans, and he promised me one the next day. It was the beginning of May before we were able to get those cans out of our back room. I originally wanted to bring those cans back when they went to a new cannery, and though I do think they were deceived by Evanger’s, it felt so wrong to me that they wouldn’t give me the support that I need as a store owner to help them defend their products. I also felt like they must have been lax about their oversight of their manufacturer to ensure that what they were being told was true about how their ingredients were sourced and handled. I’m sure they won’t make that mistake again, but I sent letter after letter to them with absolutely no response. I support and defend the companies I carry, and I wish they had done the same for me.
Reader
June 18, 2017 at 4:50 pm
Actually what I supplied to “Christine” is to be attributed to “B. Dawson” who did all the work, and shared will all readers.
But in reply to Christine and the letter (or many) she wrote to Party Animal, is the following:
I imagine to be any kind of successful small business owner, requires a bit of faith and overlooking some imperfections. Or they would never get anywhere, or sell many products. Unfortunately “Christine” has been played in this case. No doubt the delay was due to figuring out what they could say (if anything) by their legal team, knowing that as the issue got even bigger, those words could turn into evidence, especially if they were untrue.
I’ve always asked myself why there aren’t more significant whistle blowers within the PFI. From executives, to workers to distributors. And my conclusion is that they all settled a long time ago on mutual silence. Management would be signing non-disclosures of course. And unpopular (or fired) workers are probably threatened with their history following them into any new production/assembly job. As a group, they have all decided that calling out any one among them, would release a trail of nuisance suits against all of them, in retribution. Not unlike BB vs. Purina.
For Party Animal to adopt some pretense of being innocent in this case, would probably mean Evangers leaking their true failures. So what we’re seeing happening (so visibly) in the media right now, by the so-called deep state, is the same kind of peer pressure protecting the PFI from within.
As consumers, the enforcement of laws, and punishment for violations, is our only hope at this point. But it will take brave people to make it so. Certainly, not truth or transparency. Ever.
Dianne & Pets
June 15, 2017 at 8:00 pm
Even if the conversation is denied, they will have to have a darn good reason why the invoice changed name. Party animal would be better off going to court. Then they can say to their customers that they did something.
Marilyn C. Klein
June 15, 2017 at 8:55 pm
I have not purchased any Party Animal cat food since the whole Evanger’s poisoning started. If Party Animal does change packers, I MAY go back to purchasing them. When I emailed them about their co-packer and if they were going to change, I wasn’t even given the courtesy of a reply. It seems that they didn’t realize that pet owners control their earnings…..although, now, after seeing a loss of 20 Million, maybe they will. How sad!!
NY
June 16, 2017 at 9:14 am
Starting with their organic canned food debut (Excited to learn of them initially.) and then three additional times over 2 years I emailed PA with basic questions like “Are all your vitamins/minerals non-China sourced”, etc. and they never once responded to any of my inquiries. So I never purchased their food. I agree on all accounts!
Jane
June 16, 2017 at 9:27 pm
A couple things caught my eye in the complaint. First, they refer to having “purchased” products from Evangers – which seems like a different situation altogether than contracting with them to produce their own Party Animal food.
And second, they say that they have been notified by “consumers” (plural) wanting to have their vet bills paid. Was there more than one incidence of a pet getting sick from their food?
I hope they are changing production facilities (as someone mentioned in the comments). But wonder why they haven’t made any sort of public announcement about that. The way they’ve been treating their customers has done some damage to their reputation, as well.