Rebel Creamery files Chapter 11 with $23.8M Van Leeuwen judgment on appeal

Key Points:

• Rebel Creamery filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Utah, reporting $13.78 million in assets and $23.85 million in liabilities, largely due to a $23.785 million judgment awarded to rival Van Leeuwen Ice Cream in a trade-dress dispute.
• The bankruptcy filing came shortly after a federal judge ruled that Rebel had intentionally infringed and diluted Van Leeuwen's trade dress, ordering Rebel to stop selling products with the infringing packaging and to redesign it.
• Van Leeuwen's trade dress includes monochromatic pastel-colored cardboard pints with black script lettering and a minimalist design, which Rebel was found to have copied, causing consumer confusion and bad faith.
• Rebel's liabilities are primarily tied to the Van Leeuwen judgment, which is currently under appeal, and the company reported having $5.22 million in cash, $2.59 million in accounts receivable, and $5.65 million in inventory.
• Rebel's ice cream is sold nationwide at major retailers like Walmart, Kroger, and Safeway, and the bankruptcy filing noted that funds would be available for distribution to unsecured creditors.