FLYING MONKEY seller sues R&S Wholesale over BLUE MONKEY pre-rolls on common-law rights: complaint allegations

What was filed

The complaint is Document 1, filed October 5, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division. The case is White Label Leaf LLC v. RIZ LLC d/b/a R&S Wholesale, No. 8:26-cv-03031, and it includes a jury demand. It pleads two counts: trademark infringement and false designation of origin under 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)(1)(A), and Florida common-law trademark infringement and unfair competition. Counsel is William R. Brees of Bayramoglu Law Offices, LLC.

What the complaint alleges

The complaint says White Label Leaf is a Florida limited liability company that sells vaporizer, pre-roll, gummy, and related smoke-shop products under the FLYING MONKEY name. It says its claims rest on common-law rights from actual use, not on a federal registration, and that it has used FLYING MONKEY in commerce since at least April 22, 2022, pointing to an invoice of that date for the sale of 1,200 FLYING MONKEY products by its authorized distributor to a buyer in Norcross, Georgia. It says its smoking-monkey artwork and packaging are offered as marketplace context, not as a separately asserted mark or trade dress.

The complaint alleges, on information and belief, that RIZ LLC is an Alabama limited liability company doing business as R&S Wholesale, and it alleges that the defendant operates the R&S Wholesale business from Birmingham, Alabama, and through a wholesale website. It alleges the accused goods include BLUE MONKEY Blue Lotus pre-roll products advertised in at least ten varieties, in packaging that shows BLUE MONKEY in a stacked, stylized logotype with a blue monkey-head mascot. It ties them to the defendant through a client-provided distributor document bearing the RIZ LLC and R&S Wholesale names that lists 600 units, and through a Florida wholesaler that identified "Riz llc Alabama" as connected to the manufacturing of BLUE MONKEY and as the owner of the brand.

For venue, the complaint relies on a September 23, 2026 test purchase that its investigator placed through Green Treez Company: one item, a total charge of $20.99, delivered to St. Petersburg, Florida, which the complaint says was a BLUE MONKEY Blue Lotus "Cherry" 3-gram product with a back panel that reads "DISTRIBUTED BY Blue Monkey." It alleges, on information and belief, that the defendant supplies BLUE MONKEY products through wholesale and reseller channels that reach Florida. It alleges at least two independent inquiries about affiliation: on August 8, 2026, a Texas industry participant sent a photo of BLUE MONKEY packaging and asked whether the product was White Label Leaf's, and on August 14, 2026, a Virginia distributor asked, "Blue monkey is you guys?" The complaint says White Label Leaf answered no both times.

The prayer asks for a temporary, preliminary, and permanent injunction within the geographic markets where White Label Leaf has established common-law rights in FLYING MONKEY and any legally cognizable zone of natural expansion. It also asks for a recall from the defendant's customers, destruction under 15 U.S.C. § 1118, a compliance report under 15 U.S.C. § 1116(a), an accounting and profits, actual and enhanced damages, and attorneys' fees as an exceptional case under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a).