Nicole ‘Snooki’ LaValle and Deena Cortese get sued by The Meatball Shop for alleged trademark violations
Nicole ‘Snooki’ LaValle and Deena Cortese have been sued by The Meatball Shop for alleged trademark violations.
LaValle, 33, and Cortese, 33, were sued over their meatball merchandise by New York City-based The Meatball Shop, according to an article Tuesday by TMZ.
The women embraced their ‘meatballs’ moniker while starring on the MTV reality series Jersey Shore and Cortese opened her Instagram bio with the current description, ‘Jersey shores meatball’.
Meatball merchandise: Nicole ‘Snooki’ LaValle, shown in February in New York City, has been sued over alleged trademark infringement by The Meatball Shop
They’ve also been using their nickname to sell clothing items on the Internet with a ‘Meatball Merch’ online storefront.
LaValle promoted Meatball Merch on Tuesday on her Instagram Stories with shot video clips of goods available.
The Meatball Shop in its lawsuit claimed that LaValle and Cortese have ignored their cease and desist letter after allegedly appropriating their trademarks.
The lawsuit claimed the reality stars were ruining their brand’s good name with their meatball merchandise.
Also sued: Deena Cortese, shown in November 2019 in Santa Monica, California, also was named as a defendant in the lawsuit filed by The Meatball Shop
The Meatball Shop was seeking a court-ordered injunction banning them from selling any more meatball merchandise as well as monetary damages.
LaValle and Cortese rose to fame on the MTV reality show Jersey Shore that aired from 2009 to 2012.
They both also starred on the reboot Jersey Shore: Family Vacation that premiered in 2018, but LaValle left after season three.
Online store: Snooki took to Instagram on Tuesday to promote Meatball Merch
Season four of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation premiered last month on MTV.
The Meatball Shop opened in 2010 in the Lower East Side and has since expanded with four current locations in New York City.
LaValle and Cortese back in 2017 made meatballs with The Meatball Shop co-owners Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow as part of a photoshoot, according to Food & Wine.
Reality show: LaValle and Cortese rose to fame on the MTV reality show Jersey Shore that aired from 2009 to 2012 are shown with their castmates in March 2018 in New York City