Shaklee and CEO Roger Barnett File Libel Suit Against Plexus Worldwide in Federal Court

Shaklee Corporation and its chairman and CEO, Roger Barnett, have sued Plexus Worldwide, LLC for libel and slander in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The case, Shaklee Corporation et al v. Plexus Worldwide, LLC, No. 1:26-cv-03176, was opened September 10, 2026. The complaint, which includes a jury demand, was entered on the docket September 11 and invokes the federal court's diversity jurisdiction. Attachments listed with the complaint include a letter marked as Exhibit A, a summons to Plexus Worldwide and a civil cover sheet. Shaklee also filed a certificate disclosing its corporate affiliations and financial interests.

The same day, the clerk issued a notice of new case error, directing the plaintiffs to file a corrected initiating pleading that lists the name and full residence address of each party, as required by the court's local rules. The notice said the case would not proceed until the error was corrected.

The public docket does not describe the statements the plaintiffs say were defamatory, and the complaint itself was not publicly posted. Plexus had not filed a response as of the docket entries available.

The suit follows litigation Plexus brought against Shaklee in Arizona. On July 23, 2026, Plexus sued Brooke and Thomas Hemingway in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona for breach of contract, and later amended its complaint to add Shaklee Corporation as a defendant. Plexus filed a second amended complaint on September 16. On September 30, Shaklee moved to dismiss that complaint and filed a separate motion to dismiss under the Arizona anti-SLAPP statute, supported by a declaration from Barnett. The Hemingways also moved to dismiss. On October 15, the Arizona court gave Plexus until October 21 to respond to the motions.