Just Goods, Inc. v. Just, Inc., et al.
- William Orrick
- 3:18-cv-02198
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 3
In Just Goods v. Just, Judge Orrick ordered defendants to pay $115,662.27, document compliance, and address a possible special master.
Eat Just and Joshua Tetrik were ordered to pay additional sanctions and attorney’s fees, provide a compliance declaration, and participate in the process for selecting a possible special master. Just Goods, Inc. was awarded $45,000 in sanctions and $25,662.27 in attorney’s fees.
What happened
In Just Goods, Inc. v. Just, Inc., et al., the court said defendants Eat Just and Joshua Tetrik continued violating a 2017 term sheet despite earlier orders and $657,500 in sanctions. The court cited new products, partnership announcements, and other alleged violations.
The court ordered defendants to pay $90,000 in additional sanctions and $25,662.27 for Just Goods, Inc.’s attorney’s fees by January 16, 2026. It also required Eat Just to submit a declaration confirming full compliance when compliance is achieved.
Judge Iliam H. Orrick indicated an intent to appoint a special master to assess compliance and impose further sanctions if needed. He ordered the parties to propose candidates and said Eat Just would initially pay the master’s retainer.
The detailed version
- Just Goods, Inc. v. Just, Inc., et al. · No. 3:18-cv-02198
- William Orrick
- Dec. 1, 2025
Background
The court previously ordered defendants Eat Just (“EJ”) and Joshua Tetrik to pay $575,000 in sanctions, divided equally between Just Goods, Inc. (“JGI”) and the court. On July 18, 2025, the court ordered an additional $82,500 because of continued noncompliance with the parties’ 2017 term sheet. The court said those sanctions had not brought EJ into compliance.
The court found that defendants had failed to eliminate existing violations and had introduced new ones. The opinion referred to evidence concerning new “JUST Meat” products, Wikipedia entries, partnership announcements using “JUST,” and EJ’s “Just One” or “Just One Protein” product. EJ argued that it was generally in compliance except for a few discrete issues, but the court rejected that position.
Ruling
The court ordered defendants to pay an additional $90,000 in sanctions by January 16, 2026: $45,000 to JGI and $45,000 to the court. It also ordered defendants to pay JGI $25,662.27 for attorney’s fees. The order further required EJ to submit a declaration of full compliance addressing outstanding issues when EJ achieves full compliance.
Judge Iliam H. Orrick indicated that he intended to appoint a special master under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 53. A special master is a neutral appointed to handle matters that the judge cannot effectively and timely address. The proposed master would assess defendants’ compliance with the term sheet and the court’s orders and could take further steps, including imposing additional sanctions. The court said it anticipated granting the master the authority allowed by Rule 53(c), but the opinion did not identify an appointed master.
The court ordered the parties to meet and confer and file an agreed list of three candidates by December 22, 2025. If they could not agree, they could file a joint statement explaining their recommendations and disagreement. The court reserved the right to select someone not proposed by the parties. Because of EJ’s continued noncompliance, EJ would pay the special master’s retainer initially, although the master could later direct that the fees be shared if the equities required it.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.