Procter & Gamble last week asked a U.S. appeals court in Austin, TX, to reinstate its defamation case against Amway Corp. for allegedly spreading rumors linking P&G with Satanic cults.

P&G’s old logo at the center of a defamation claim

The case, filed in 1998 in federal court in Houston, TX, claimed that a group of Amway distributors had revived decades-old false rumors that P&G’s old moon-and-stars logo is a Satanic icon, and that P&G’s president said he was a member of the Church of Satan during a TV interview. The rumors began circulating in the 1970s. P&G’s claim alleged that an Amway distributor revived the rumors with a 1995 message sent across Amway’s national voicemail system.

The case was dismissed in 2003 after an appeals court upheld a ruling in favor of Amway in a similar case P&G filed in Utah.

Last week, P&G argued to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that it need not follow the Utah court’s lead, according to news reports. Amway argued that the case must be dismissed since the same issue between the same parties has already been decided in the Utah court, the report said.

“We’ll continue to protect the reputation of P&G and its employees against the spread of these malicious false rumors,” said spokesperson Vicky Mayer.

No ruling was made on whether the Texas case will resume.

Procter & Gamble last week asked a U.S. appeals court in Austin, TX, to reinstate its defamation case against Amway Corp. for allegedly spreading rumors linking P&G with Satanic cults.

P&G’s old logo at the center of a defamation claim

The case, filed in 1998 in federal court in Houston, TX, claimed that a group of Amway distributors had revived decades-old false rumors that P&G’s old moon-and-stars logo is a Satanic icon, and that P&G’s president said he was a member of the Church of Satan during a TV interview. The rumors began circulating in the 1970s. P&G’s claim alleged that an Amway distributor revived the rumors with a 1995 message sent across Amway’s national voicemail system.

The case was dismissed in 2003 after an appeals court upheld a ruling in favor of Amway in a similar case P&G filed in Utah.

Last week, P&G argued to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that it need not follow the Utah court’s lead, according to news reports. Amway argued that the case must be dismissed since the same issue between the same parties has already been decided in the Utah court, the report said.

“We’ll continue to protect the reputation of P&G and its employees against the spread of these malicious false rumors,” said spokesperson Vicky Mayer.

No ruling was made on whether the Texas case will resume.