Sueros & Bebidas Rehidratantes, S.A. de C.V. et al. v. Palimex Distributors Inc. et al., No. 1:25-cv-02171, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Feb. 24, 2026) (Rowland, J.).
Judge Rowland’s court received an agreed motion for entry of final judgment and permanent injunction in this gray market goods trademark infringement case involving Electrolit branded rehydration beverages.
Plaintiff Sueros, the Mexican owner of the ELECTROLIT trademarks, and CAB Enterprises, the exclusive U.S. licensee, sued Palimex Distributors for importing and selling foreign-manufactured ELECTROLIT products not authorized for the U.S. market (“Unauthorized Electrolit”). The parties stipulated to detailed findings of fact and conclusions of law establishing that the unauthorized products were materially different from the U.S.-authorized version.
The material differences catalogued in the stipulation are extensive:
The agreed judgment applies the well-established Societe Des Produits Nestle, S.A. standard, which holds that in gray market goods cases, the “threshold of materiality is always quite low” and the existence of any difference that consumers would likely consider relevant when purchasing a product creates a presumption of consumer confusion sufficient to support a Lanham Act claim. The judgment also notes that the Lanham Act is a “strict liability statute” where “ignorance is no defense.”
The permanent injunction broadly restrains Palimex, its affiliates, and those in active concert from purchasing, selling, distributing, importing, or advertising Unauthorized Electrolit, while expressly permitting the lawful sale of genuine U.S. Electrolit products. Plaintiffs’ breach of contract, fraud, and Illinois Consumer Fraud Act claims were dismissed without prejudice.