Jelly Belly sues Florida man who it says is claiming to be the company founder

Who actually founded the Jelly Belly Candy Co., the iconic Fairfield-based confectioner that was a favorite of President Ronald Reagan?

Jelly Belly says it isn’t a Florida man named David Klein, and it wants him to stop.

In a federal lawsuit filed in Sacramento Friday, the candy maker claims Klein has spent years attempting “to market himself and his own candy products by touting his purported connection with Jelly Belly, including by referring to himself in media reports and promotional material as the ‘founder’ of the Jelly Belly Candy Company.”

Jelly Belly says Klein’s connection to the business that began in 1869 with the Gustav Goelitz family stems only from the fact that in 1976 Klein came up with the name “Jelly Belly” and hired the Herman Goelitz Candy Co. to produce the gourmet delights.

The lawsuit says that for four years, until 1980, Klein used the name in an unincorporated business to sell the candies.

“In 1980, Jelly Belly acquired the Jelly Belly trademark from defendant and his business partner for $4.8 million pursuant to a Trademark Assignment and Marketing Agreement dated October 16, 1980,” according to the seven-page lawsuit filed by Sacramento attorneys Kurt Kappes and Michael Lane. “Since then, Defendant has not been involved with Jelly Belly.”

Klein did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday from emails sent to accounts listed on his Linkedin page, which lists him as “founder of Jelly Belly.”

But he posted a comment Friday morning referring to the lawsuit: “This is The Candyman ... this morning Jelly Belly Candy Company filled a lawsuit against me. ... I wonder if Colonel Sanders had this problem.”

Jelly Belly apparently is not amused by what it says are misleading claims.

“Because of the confusion in the marketplace caused by defendant’s misleading marketing, Jelly Belly has often been forced to issue public statements clarifying that it is not involved with defendant or the products defendant seeks to sell,” the lawsuit says. “For example, in 2019, defendant launched a line of CBD-infused jelly beans.

“In connection with his advertising of that product, defendant attempted to market them by incorrectly asserting that he was the ‘founder’ of the Jelly Belly Candy Company. As he intended, defendant’s marketing generated significant media attention and caused consumers and Jelly Belly’s customers to believe, incorrectly, that Jelly Belly was entering the legally-murky CBD and marijuana food product market.

“This risked significant legal and reputational harm to Jelly Belly.”

The company ended up issuing a news release disavowing any connection to a CBD business.

“While Jelly Belly does not publicly discuss research and development projects, it can state that it is not pursuing the development of any CBD products at this time, as such products would currently be illegal for Jelly Belly, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,” the release stated.

The company says it has had to request corrections from various media entities that referred to Klein as the founder, and that in 2020 Klein promoted a “Gold Ticket” contest with a grand prize of a candy factory.

“Defendant promoted the contest by representing that he was the ‘founder’ of the Jelly Belly Candy Company, which led to significant confusion by consumers and the media that the grand prize would be a Jelly Belly candy factory,” the suit says. “This confusion led to negative speculation about Jelly Belly and risked significant reputational harm risk to Jelly Belly.

“Thus, again, Jelly Belly was required to issue a press release clarifying that it was not involved in defendant’s contest and that the winner would not receive one of Jelly Belly’s candy factories.”

The suit also claims that since Klein received the last of his $4.8 million in payments, he has “consistently harassed Jelly Belly.”

“For example, in 2010, defendant and his son arranged for a documentary about defendant to be made, in which defendant portrays himself as a victim of Jelly Belly, implying that the 1980 trademark acquisition was improper (but admitting that he simply regrets his choice to sell),” the suit says. “In 2016, in connection with his attempts to raise funds purportedly to develop new products, defendant engaged in a public relations campaign to attempt to associate himself with Jelly Belly.

“In 2018, when a change in Google’s search function caused a picture of Gustav Goelitz to appear when one Googled ‘who invented Jelly Belly jelly beans,’ Defendant started a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to sue Jelly Belly (notwithstanding the donations he received, no such suit was filed).

“Defendant has also publicly accused Jelly Belly of defaming him. These actions have caused false and bullying online attacks by defendant’s ‘followers,’ to which Jelly Belly must consistently respond.”

The suit also says Klein began a defamation complaint in a New York court over the company’s efforts to distance itself from his claims, and it is asking the Sacramento federal court for damages, as well as a judgment “declaring that defendant is not the ‘founder’ of the Jelly Belly Candy Company and an order permanently enjoining him from saying so.