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A trial has begun in a lawsuit in Utah County in which Nu Skin Enterprises is suing and being sued by a former employee over personal care products the company claims were stolen, but that he says were given to him by willing employees.
A jury began hearing testimony this week in the case that pits the multi-level marketer against Scott Lazerson.
Nu Skin claims Lazerson duped Nu Skin employees into giving him products set aside for employees for his charity, which provided the products to needy people in different countries. But instead of using the products for charitable purposes, Nu Skin claims Lazerson and two others sold much of the product over the Internet and used some of the proceeds for personal expenses.
Lazerson counters that Nu Skin employees gave him the "dump stuff" products that were going to be thrown away and that he told them some of it would be used by his charity. Nu Skin managers who learned of the donations allegedly set up Lazerson and two others to make it appear they were stealing products and then called Provo police.
Lazerson and former Miss Utah Elizabeth Craig and her business partner Brady Harper were arrested and charged with theft. Those charges were eventually dismissed.
Nu Skin, Craig and Harper reached a settlement on the company's lawsuit against them, though the terms were not disclosed. Now, a jury is to decide the remaining claims and counterclaims involving Nu Skin and Lazerson.
Meanwhile on Monday, Craig's attorney argued before the Utah Supreme Court that her lawsuit against Provo police for her alleged wrongful arrest should not be derailed on a technicality.
Tossing out the case over a court fee would set an unfair precedent for people who want to try to hold governments accountable for their mistakes, her attorneys said.
But lawyers for Provo, the city that employs the officers, said there are specific rules for lawsuits filed against governments, and a missed $300 fee should end the one-time beauty queen's case.
Theft and other charges were dropped in December 2010, but Craig says media interest in the case nevertheless derailed her budding career as a motivational speaker and cost her thousands of dollars in legal fees.
A lawsuit Craig filed against the city in federal court was dismissed.
The state court lawsuit turns on whether Provo's status as a government entity makes it immune from a law that gives plaintiffs like Craig more time to sue.