January (Web-only) 2003

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U.S. Appeals Court: Procter & Gamble wasn't defamed by Satanism rumors
Amway Corp. is pleased that the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a lawsuit claiming the company spread rumors linking rival Procter & Gamble to Satanism. Still, Amway can't be happy with the headline in the Detroit Free Press: "Amway wins a big round on Satanism."

Procter & Gamble said Amway representatives told thousands of customers that the company gives a part of its revenues to satanic cults. After several court battles, a federal district court dismissed Amway Corp. as a defendant in the case back in 2001, and this week Judge Robert Henry attacked Procter & Gamble for beating a dead horse. The company, he said, "unremittingly sought to relitigate and reassert previously adjudicated issues. … Throughout this and its related protracted and duplicative litigation, P&G has tried to evade the law of the case doctrine, and has squandered scarce judicial resources."

Even now Procter & Gamble isn't giving up, and is suing Amway and several distributors in Texas for the same reason. "Since these lawsuits were filed, the rumors have essentially stopped," spokeswoman Gretchen Muchnick told the Free Press.

That's utterly ludicrous, says Amway's lawyer. "We are proud but not surprised that Amway has been completely vindicated in this ridiculous case. We never spread the rumor—in fact, we spent years helping P&G fight it."

Gospel Music Association head announces surprise resignation
Frank Breeden says he has resigned as president of the Gospel Music Association and the Christian Music Trade Association effective January 31—a move that the Nashville Tennessean says took "Christian music industry colleagues by surprise."

"'It is a time for change," he said. ...