A lawsuit in which several prominent Amway distributors alleged the direct-sales giant was a pyramid scheme was dismissed today by a federal judge in Los Angeles.Filed in August, the suit sought to free distributors from non-compete clauses imposed by Amway parent, Alticor Inc. and its Quixtar online unit.
The suit had been led by Orrin Woodward, of Grand Blanc, along with 15 other high-level distributors, known as Independent Business Owners, or IBOs.
In a statement posted online, Alticor called the dismissal "a major victory."
"The dismissal deals a severe blow to Orrin Woodward's federal class-action legal attack," the statement said. "Woodward and other plaintiffs cynically claimed that Quixtar was an illegal pyramid scheme in an attempt to avoid their contractual obligations, embarrass the company and damage its IBOs.
